One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
by chewing.on.PEARLS
Summary: One step forward: I found Sakura; two steps back: she's seeing someone else, and apparently, she despises me...Sasusaku, plz R&R, COMPLETED chap 15 up, Lemon! CHANGED MY PEN NAME: Princesssayuri1 :
1. Prologue

A/N: Hi! So this will be my first Sasuxsaku fic, though I call myself a big fan; pretty sad, right? Anyways, the only reason I made time for this fic is because my friend maica-chan (or you might know her as **kia.511**) asked for a sasuxsaku fic. And since she's my buddy, I decided to give it a try! So I hope you like my story!

What else to say…well, lets just say that after the killing of Itachi, none of this really follows the plot, because it's a FANfiction, and I'm making it up...actually, if I even talk of the fight, or a little before it, it will be off…so no flames or reviews on the matter, unless you have a SERIOUS question that needs asking!

**Disclaimer: I don't own…because if I did, I would be the luckiest bitch in the world, and you know it…**

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**One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**

**Prologue**

He slowly limped through the forests, broken leg dragging behind him. Tightly gripping his left arm, he grimaced, teeth still gritted, as he held still the severed muscle in his shoulder.

Frowning, Sasuke narrowed his crimson eyes. Where were those damn ANBU, he couldn't be far from the village. They were usually out scouting the surroundings of the village (at least three to four kilometers out) at this time of night.

Finally defeating his brother, he saw that he had no purpose in being away from the village, except to think over how his brother had not, in fact, killed his clan off in cold blood. It had taken a few weeks in wandering around, in what seemed uselessness, before he decided to make the trek back to Konoha, and reluctantly take whatever punishment that would be bestowed upon him. After all, he had no one else.

Orochimaru had been done and over with for almost a year now, and the most of Team Hebi was dead, as well. Karin had been killed in the cross-fire of his and Itachi's fight, while Suigetsu, upon seeing Kisame, had foolishly run off to fight with him over something as barbaric as the acceptance into some swords team that had been finish for years now. It was a couple hours into the battle with his brother, that he had felt the disappearance of the white-haired boy's chakra signature, and knew he was dead. As for Juugo, he was probably still out there rampaging and causing havoc, trying to find someone to kill to settle his nerves. If Sasuke were right, he would end up dead, as well.

They wouldn't be coming back to bother Sasuke about leaving them, and that was just fine to Sasuke.

There was a soft ticking sound to his left, and he quickly halted, crimson eyes shooting to where the sound came from. He stood straight up, looking into he trees, his jaw clenching. _Finally, the fucking ANBU…_

"State your name and purpose!" ordered one in a lion's mask.

Sasuke tilted his face so it could be seen in the moonlight. "Hn," he grunted condescendingly.

A soft gasp was heard to the right of him—a woman by the sound of it. "Uchiha…Sasuke?" she questioned mostly to herself.

There were a few grunts and gasps of surprise as the lot of the ANBU grasped at their kunai and katana instinctively. The woman ANBU from before turned to another in an eagle's mask. "Taichou?" she whispered harshly.

"Capture him," he commanded.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed once again, the infamous sharigan swirling in those orbs. His hand made it's way to his kunai pack almost as instinctively as the ANBU, but then he paused, tips brushing past it. Sweat rolled down his brow as he struggled to keep standing and breathing correctly. He couldn't attack, not if he didn't want to start a commotion, and wanted to be accepted into the village.

Besides, he was fatally injured and low on both chakra and energy. He didn't stand a chance against ANBU at this point. He would have to surrender, even if it was the _last_ thing any egotistical and proud Uchiha like him—and every other, for that matter—would want to do.

"Tch…" He stood straight again, out of his fighting stance. _Oh, shit… _His eyes widened, as the sharigan flickered before disappearing into obsidian depths, and then fell to the ground, face first.

Sasuke grimaced and then grunted as the hit forced him to remember the broken rib that had punctured his lung, leaving it hard for him to breathe in the first place. As soon as he made contact with the ground, the other side of his bone had punctured through his torso, blood pooling underneath him.

_Speaking of which…_Blood splattered from his mouth, as he metallic taste of it filled his mouth, burning his throat.

Sasuke's teeth gritted as he saw the boot of an ANBU come into sight, chains hanging in front of his face threateningly.

"Hey, hey…that's not who I think it is, is it?" inquired a vaguely familiar voice from the trees. A small chuckle. "If so, I never thought to see him _injured_." A hearty bark followed the statement.

_A dog?...An Inuzuka…_thought Sasuke.

The capturing of the young Uchiha halted. "Inuzuka-san…" acknowledged somebody. "What are you doing here?"

"Why are you capturing him? He's injured badly," asked the Inuzuka boy, intently, as he ignored their question.

"That might be true, but this is _Uchiha Sasuke_!" protested one of the ANBU worriedly, her voice cold as she spat his name.

"Hai," seconded another. "He is an S-class criminal, originally from Konoha, and we have orders to capture him if he is found from the Hokage, herself, Inuzuka-san," he informed.

"Yeah," chuckled the Inuzuka. "But his is _Naruto's_ best friend who is injured." He paused. "And do you _really _feel like having an angry Naruto on your ass?" reasoned the boy with an uneasy yet knowing tone.

Scoffing slightly, the Inuzuka chuckled again, "I didn't think so." The ANBU stepped off of Sasuke a little and smirked. _I owe you one, Kiba._

"ANBU captain, please send your fastest to summon one of the most experienced and prominent med-nin you know—either Shizune-san or Sakura!" ordered Kiba.

"They are both on missions," spoke a blonde ANBU.

The brown-haired Inuzuka sighed. "Then get Ino!" he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The Uchiha's eyebrows furrowed from where he lay, face down. _Ino and…Sakura?_ They must have either come a long way, or The Hidden Leaf was lacking…

The captain turned to two of his group that seemed to be the fastest. "You heard him!" he stared pointing his hand toward the village. "Bring Yamanaka-san here at once. Tell her it is an emergency," he ordered sternly.

"Hai!" they confirmed with a bow.

"Dismissed!" And they were off.

Akamaru barked at his master, a whine of protest following. "I know, Akamaru, but they're fast _enough_. If we move him too much, he'll lose too much blood, and we can't risk that," Kiba explained, hands on his hips. He sniffed the air, his nose wrinkling at the stench of blood left in it. _Man, someone really fucked you up, Sasuke…_

He frowned as another scent came to his nose. _Itachi…_His eyes then widened as realization hit him. _You couldn't have…!_ Kiba shook the present thoughts out of his mind. There was time to think of this later. After all, he would never get answers if Sasuke were _dead_.

He pointed at one of the ANBU closest to the Uchiha. "You, feed him two blood replenishing pills!" he commanded. He glanced at another with stern eyes of a leader. "And you, lay him on his back, and elevate his head and leg. It should make it less painful for him…_now_!"

"Hai!" The two ANBU quickly did as they were told.

"Slowly!" called the dog-boy, eyes wide as he noticed how uneasy the onyx-haired boy looked.

Suddenly, a flash of blonde appeared next to him in a battle ready position.

"Look who finally decided to show up…" sneered Kiba with a small smirk, showing off a canine-fang.

The blue-eyed medic pouted. "Shut up!" she bit out, putting two small fists on her hips. Kiba couldn't help but chuckle. "Kiba, what's going on here?" Her voice and facial features changed from 'snappy bitch' to 'worried villager'. "I wake to two ANBU telling me there's something urgent on the outskirts of Konoha?" she asked exasperated.

Kiba gave her an awkward look. It was only about 8:00, after all. But then he got a gander at the monster bags under Ino's eyes. No doubt from filling in Sakura's place at the hospital while she was busy with other priorities that needed to be attended to. The dog-boy only smirked. "Heh…take a look for yourself…" he threw his shaggy locks towards the man on the ground.

Ino quickly glanced at the Uchiha, eyes lingering on the figure. Then she looked back at him with a questioning gaze; she found the chakra signature familiar, but Kiba could tell she hadn't totally figured it out yet. "Is it really that bad?"

Kiba scoffed. "Yeah! Why would I call _you _of all people?" he questioned.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Wow, I'm flattered…" she stated dryly. She _was _flattered, she was just tired. She hopped of the tree and confidently walked over to her newest patient. The young kunoichi brought her hands up, cracking her knuckles and then paused about a meter away from the boy. She stiffened, paling noticeably, eyes widening slightly. _I knew that chakra felt familiar…_

There he was; onyx, flowing hair, with matching eyes; perfect pale skin, accented by his toned muscles. _Sasuke…_She hesitated before continuing towards him, muttering a harsh "move" the ANBU's way, eyes hard again.

"Of course, Yamanaka-san…" The young ANBU scooted over, allowing the heir to the Yamanaka household to kneel next to the last Uchiha.

The blonde reached out her hand, palm shaking slightly. She hesitated for another second before gradually touching his cheek, eyes saddening a little as she looked at his bruised, nostalgic face. Ino glanced over at Kiba, same look in her eye, and he only nodded knowingly.

Getting back to the task at hand, she lowered her digits down to his neck. "His pulse isn't erratic, but I should finish him up quickly…" she murmured mostly to herself, but the two ANBU next to her nodded affirmatively.

She looked up at them. "Has the Hokage been informed about this?'"

The one to her left with dark, chocolate hair nodded again. "Hai, someone has already been sent," he replied.

Her hands began glowing green as she gave a nod of her own. "Well, I think I can handle things here, now, you may go back to your scouting." Her head snapped back to her previous engagement. "Though I don't think you'll find anything quite as…" She hated the use of this word, but…"_troublesome_ as this…" she said, bitterly glaring at the boy she was healing.

"Hai!" And the ANBU disappeared.

Moving her hands to his shoulder, she began to mend the damaged muscles there. She looked into his onyx eyes emotionlessly, his were half-lidded and twitching in pain.

There was a short silence, before she spoke in a whisper. "Your eyes hurt, don't they…?" He grunted slightly, and she scoffed. "You'll go blind if you keep overusing that damn sharigan like you've most likely been doing…" she berated in a quiet, yet harsh voice.

Sasuke glared. If he were strong enough at this moment, he would be attempting to strangle the bitch, right now.

"Just like your brother…" she continued. Ino knew he wasn't able to talk back during the predicament he was in, so she would take this time to get things straight. "Just when I thought _he_ was the one you despised, _he_ was the one you wanted to kill; you turned out just like him, didn't you?" she asked as she ever-so-roughly moved from his shoulder, brushing past his lung, and arriving at his broken leg where she did not even think to numb the pain with her chakra. He hissed softly.

"How dare you betray us—for that snake bastard, no less?" she asked hotly. He noticed tears shimmering in her eyes, but never falling. And then her voice reached a level of coldness that he was not fond of hearing from the usually loud, perky girl. "But I and the rest of us will make sure you will betray us no longer, for Sakura and Naruto's sake…and for _yours_." Her scornful frown soon turned into a small smirk as her glowing green hand came up over his eyes. "Sweet dreams, _traitor_…" she chimed, sadistically. And he was out.

Step forward: he had finally reached Konoha; steps back: apparently the most of Konoha was angry, and he was sure it had a pink-haired inhabitant that seconded that…

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A/N: So, hoped you liked it! I worked hard on it, and it took longer than I thought it would…BUT ANYWAYS!! Plz review, peeps!! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	2. No Privacy

**A/N: **Hey, guys! This was probably a really long wait (for anyone who's reading this), and for that, I am truly sorry! If you have ever read any of my other stories, you'll know that updating isn't really my cup of tea, and that laziness is…you'll learn to live with it, if you really care! Well, anyway, on to the chapter!

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Chapter 1: No Privacy

Obsidian eyebrows furrowed, as a grunt escaped dry lips. The owner of those lips opened his eyes, so they were only half way open, letting them adjust to what little light was in the room. After a few short minutes of getting used to how his onyx eyes worked in the room, Sasuke finally opened them all the way, fighting through the slight pain he received from the action, and looked around taking in his surroundings.

His face gave off a confused, albeit disgruntled look, as he soon figured out he didn't know where he was. Looking straight up (as the small restriction in his body and the position the soft cushion beneath him _didn't _prohibit him to do), he noticed a large light above him, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw a couple more scattered throughout the room.

Sasuke frowned slightly; that didn't help in the least. How many places had he encountered with large lights hanging from the ceiling? Mentally slapping himself for the stupid question, the Uchiha thought over where he had been last, and what he had been doing…_Itachi…pain…victory…more pain…_

He slowly began to tilt his head to the left, neck cracking and twitching in defiance. His view was now a window with a half-closed curtain covering what seemed to be the outside of a busy building, and a bustling village a little further out.

So, it hadn't been some dream. He was really in Konoha now.

With a small grunt, he whipped his head (hesitantly), to the right side of him, and was now facing the machinery that was keeping him alive. _Konoha Hospital…_ He was no stranger to the place with all the bouts he used to get into while he was a citizen of Konohagakure.

The young Uchiha was finally able to feel the pressure on a big chunk of his face that kept his breathing in check, and cursed himself for not noticing the oxygen mask earlier. He felt a twinge of pain erupt in his lung as he tried to wake his nerves up by moving his a body a little, but then ceased the actions understanding that these weren't injuries he could just walk off. He also (being healed by many medics in the past) understood that either his medic was a crazy bitch that hated him, or wasn't very talented at numbing the pain in his wounds.

Sasuke decided to settle with the latter, because he knew that he would probably be stuck with the person throughout his stay in the hospital, and he or she would be doing many "harmless" procedures on him. If there was one thing worse than a crazy bitch that hated him, it was a crazy bitch that hated him, and didn't mind inflicting needless pain on him while he was physically incapable of fighting back.

His eyes trailed to the door. _Speak of the devil…_

A young blonde dressed in a clean white nurses outfit with a white coat included walked in, glancing at her clipboard thoughtfully.

She gazed up at him, cerulean eyes widening for a split second, before narrowing slightly in a joking gesture. The medic stood still in her place, a hand on her hip, and a crude smirk spreading across plump lips.

"Get enough beauty sleep, Uchiha?" He responded with a glare.

She snorted snidely. "I'll take that as a yes." She strode over to him, long, tanned legs flexing and jiggling slightly with every step. He prompted to keep his eyes there for a while, not really caring if the blonde did or didn't know where his gaze had traveled.

When she had finally stopped moving, he noticed she was right in front of his bed, and he looked up to see the girl with a prideful smirk on her face, and a golden eyebrow raised. Ino had _really_ gotten a bit taller, a bit curvier, a bit hotter over the years. If he did not have plans with the pink one, he might've considered her as a soon-to-be-wife.

Ino put her hands on her hips. "You might be Sasuke, but you seem to appreciate the nurses uniform like every other male patient I have…" She sent a short glance to his manhood that was poking through the sheer blankets, and then back to his emotionless face. Then again, that could just be Sasuke all the time. It had been a while since she last saw him, and that could just be another check on the list of Sasuke's hot body parts.

But like the boy had thought earlier, he didn't care, and his face said it all. "Hn," he grunted softly.

Ino bent over, pulling down the sheets on his practically naked body, and revealing his hard chest, and the black hem-line of his boxers. The blonde laid her hand on his torso, fingering the line that only about a day ago had been bleeding heavily, with a rib jutting through it. "Your wounds are healing well," she murmured.

Her hand trailed up over numerous cuts, to his face where she yanked the oxygen mask from his nose and mouth.

Sasuke coughed a little, not used to the horror of not having oxygen pumped into his lungs for him. He sat up and scowled as his "sweet" medic who was oblivious to his situation, and was most likely writing something _useless_ on her clipboard.

Questioning aqua eyes finally caught his onyx ones, laughing in mirth, and then the owner of said eyes pulled up the chair, sitting in it and crossing her legs. "You're more over-dramatic than I remembered, Uchiha. You only needed it in your sleep, your breathing seems fine otherwise," she explained impassively.

"Hn."

"So, did you rest well? Have you enjoyed your stay at Konoha Hospital? Do your injuries still hurt?" she sighed, as if she had said it to 500 patients that day, and was hoping the words would burn in hell (which was probably accurate).

There was a short silence as the Uchiha with crossed arms looked the blonde's way. "No." He glared. "_No_, and yes…" His glare only became more intense as he said the last word.

Her plump lips smirked triumphantly, as if she were proud of herself, pencil quickly sweeping across the clipboard. "Good…" she murmured to herself. "And those eyes…" She looked up at him, face now serious. "Any stinging, burning, or throbbing?"

"No," he replied, his voice cold as usual.

Ino looked at him disapprovingly before uncrossing her legs, and putting the other one on top this time. "Well, I'm going to have to prohibit you from using the Sharingan until further notice," she sighed, closing the darkening blue depths of her eyes.

His eyes narrowed. "What?" he hissed. "Why--"

"_I _don't know why the Hokage cares so much about your safety; ask her!" she screeched, disgusted that he would even figure that all of Konoha gave a rats ass about him. His angered medic stood from her seat and put the clipboard on the door for her assistant that would most likely be checking up on him a few times. "It probably has something to do with the fact that you are the _only Uchiha left_."

He figured as much. The village council probably wanted the Konoha police back as much as he wanted to revive his clan.

The girl turned to him hesitantly. "It is true right? You _did _defeat Uchiha Itachi, didn't you?"

It was the small uplift of the right side of Sasuke's lip that answered Ino's question.

She gave her own smirk. "Good; we can't have you running away again! You'd be out of your mind to try and betray Konoha _twice_." She began to walk over to the chair as she threateningly pounded her fist against her other hand. "Sakura and I would personally have to beat the shit out of you then…"

There was a pregnant pause before a snide, sinisterly chuckle escaped the young Uchiha's lips. He closed his eyes, cockily. "_You _and _Sakura_? Last time I checked, she was the weakest one here, and you, not being able to even defeat her in the chunin exams…"

Ino's eyes widened, her mouth anything but agape, and nails digging into the wood of the chair.

"You're not far behind…" he recalled, his face showing total aloofness to his hateful words.

Cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously, as her lips thinned, fingers digging holes into the helpless chair. "Last time _you _checked was ten fucking years ago," she bit out through gritted teeth. She laughed bitterly, a dangerous aura surrounding her. "Do you know what can happen in ten years, Uchiha?"

He glanced over at her solemnly.

The kunoichi's lowly growl soon erupted into a shrill battle cry, as she chucked the heavy oak chair out the window, considerably shattering the glass into a million shining pieces that rained over Sasuke, the floor, and the helpless civilians below who were unlucky enough to receive the chair end of the gesture.

Her other hand stay fisted by her side, as the girl heaved, trying to calm her breathing down. Still in her throwing stance, she sent her piercing aqua eyes into Sasuke's forever-emotionless one, before stomping up to the guy, and getting so close to his face, he could smell the coffee on her breath and the flowers on her hair and clothes.

He frowned bitterly, for the Uchiha did not enjoy people in his space.

"This is the fucking last time I'll tell you to listen good, you bastard!" she spat loudly.

Lips thinning and eyes glinting dangerously, she pushed a button on the side of his bed to make his bed rise and support his back a little too much. "Comfy?"

"More than you'll ever know…" came his monotonous answer.

She grabbed his shoulders, clutching them in her small fists, knowing full well he couldn't do much in his weakened state, and not relenting her hold when he hissed because of the broken shoulder she _had_ to be re-injuring.

He gave her a very cold look, sharingan flickering before a small pain entered his head, and he chose not to use his blood-line limit to intimidate the kunoichi at this moment.

"The world does not revolve around your egotistical ass! Whenever you decide to ditch a place, it doesn't mean that life as we know it has ended!" she screeched through gritted teeth, as she let go of his shoulders. "My hair has been growing," she said grabbing her long golden tresses, and then pointed at a clock across the room. "That clock has _been _ticking! We as a people have gotten a lot stronger than you will _ever_ know! And _we_ as a people, will not hesitate to kick your arrogant ass!" With that she turned on her heels and began to stomp towards the door, body shaking violently, and long golden ponytail swishing so harshly, it promised any person who dared to get in its way a concussion.

She put her small hand around the knob, and then paused. "Oh," she remarked cynically. "And you have company…" The blonde then proceeded to open the door with such force, she _literally_ ripped it off its hinges. Growling in frustration, teal eyes glared holes into the door before she threw it to the ground and walked away.

"Hn," the Uchiha grunted in annoyance as he shut his eyes. If this went on, there wouldn't be anything left in the room by the end of the week. But by then, Sasuke would have some of his strength and chakra back, and would set the girl straight.

When the young sharingan user opened his eyes again, he noticed a hopeful Naruto and stoic-looking (and most-likely tired) Shikamaru at the door. The Uchiha quickly understood why Naruto was there, but the shadow possessor was a mystery. Seemingly reading his mind, the Nara spoke up, a hand absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. "I was sent to make sure Ino exhibited self-control around her patients today, but I guess I'm…" His drag came to a halt as he looked from the shattered window, to the dismantled door. "…I guess I'm too late…"

Sasuke looked from the Nara to the Kyuubi container next to him. His mouth was agape and his eyes shimmered with sadness; happiness; joy; and betrayal all at once. The Uchiha snorted at the emotion-driven boy that called himself shinobi.

"Teme…" Naruto finally squeaked. "Dog-breath said you were here, but I didn't believe him…" His face began to crack into a smile as he jogged to the bed and embraced the paler boy in a bone crushing hug. "I cant believe it!" he chuckled warmly.

Sasuke scowled and grumbled something around the lines of 'Let go of me, dumbass', as his wounds screamed bloody murder.

But Naruto's face changed once he clutched onto the onyx-haired boys shoulders (Sasuke flinching involuntarily) and looked at him in the eyes, determination swimming in his aqua orbs. "I can't wait for you to get out of here; I swear I'll put you right back in, believe it!" he shouted loudly.

Sasuke smirked. "You have a death wish, don't you, dobe?"

The Kyuubi container rose a threatening fist. "I could ask you the same thing!"

Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright…" he drawled as he grabbed the blonde boy's bright orange jumpsuit, and yanked him back, Naruto growling defiantly.

Dark brown eyes glanced from the pouting blonde to the stoic Uchiha and then he crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Word is you haven't even seen Hokage-sama yet. Man, when she gets a hand on you, it'll be troublesome…"stated the Nara in his usual monotonous and lazy way.

"Hn." Sasuke thought as much. Running away and joining Orochimaru wasn't exactly the same as stealing a lollipop from the candy shop.

"Yeah right!" countered Naruto. "Wait 'till _Sakura-chan _gets her hands on teme! He'll be _so_ toast!" he yelled boisterously from behind Shikamaru. "Dude, she gets home from her mission in a couple days! You better heal soon, so you can run away when she comes at you with those fists!"

The Uchiha scoffed, not paying in heed to the blonde's warning.

Shikamaru gave a ragged sigh as he tilted his face to the ceiling, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Man, the kunoichi in this village are fucking crazy. Women are so troublesome…" he drawled mostly to himself.

There was a small silence before Naruto looked at the clock, his eyes widening. "Oh crap! I'm gonna be late to meet Hinata-chan at Ichiraku!" he squealed worriedly. "I would bring you along, teme, but it looks like you're having yourself a filling meal right there," he said, gesturing to the I.V. in his arm.

Sasuke growled, mumbling something incoherent under his breath as Naruto laughed, leaving him with a "Later, teme!"

Shikamaru took his hands from his pockets. "Yeah, I'd better head out too. I'll catch you some other time, Sasuke."

The sharingan-wielder watched as they left, before looking forward, his brooding face on. Who were those two talking about again? If he had heard right, it was Sakura…again…The girl couldn't have gotten that much stronger. He had heard from somewhere that she had defeated Sasori of the Red Sand (and more recently, of the Akatsuki) in a couple of hours, no less. But it had been with the help of Chiyo-sama of Suna, so he could care less. Always needing someone else's help, never doing anything herself. _Weak…_he decided.

But Sasuke couldn't help but feel the yearning in himself to see her again. To see those big, innocent turquoise eyes, happy smile, and of course, that annoyingly bright pink hair from which her name had come.

"Sakura…" The name felt like silk through his lips, and though he had tried, he could never relieve his mind of the name. It was stuck, implanted in his head, and for some reason, he liked it that way. With that, the young ninja closed his eyes calmly, hoping to get a little more rest.

Step forward: Sakura would be here very soon; steps back: his nurse _was_ a crazy bitch that hated him, and with the window and door open like that, he wouldn't even _dream _of privacy.

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**A/N:** Ok, so now the first chapters done! I know it probably wasn't fun because Sakura wasn't even there yet, but I tried to add something at the end that showed that Sasuke was AT LEAST interested! And plus...I had to add the Ino-bitch scene! Seriously, just by writing this chapter, I came to like Ino EVEN MORE!! YAY!

Also, so sorry if you think Sasuke is a LITTLE OOC, I didnt mean to! I'm working on it, and he is DEFINITELY hard to write for me! It's hard to write romance with such an emotionless bastard...I run into the same problem with my Gaara story! Just wait till you meets angsty, angry, but still bubbly (kinda in a fake way) Sakura! So anyway, plz review!! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	3. Suprise: The New Assignment

**A/N: **Hey, guys! I don't know if I'm getting this out Friday or Saturday, cuz I'm going to Tennessee for a family thing for a day, and then coming back the next! I was kinda hoping for a Friday update this week, so if it IS Friday, YAY ME!!

Ok, people, now the reason I made this chapter a little quicker than I usually do, is because of my reviewer **IDontNeedToReply**! The girl is SUCH a sweetie, and makes me smile all the time! So, this is for you girly; keep on doing what you do! KISSES!

Now for the chapter we've all been waiting for…SAKURA'S BACK BITCHES!! Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Surprise: The New Assignment

A flash of pink hair made its way through the dense forest of Fire Country quickly, a small grunt seeping through pursed lips. Perfectly shaped, bubble gum eyebrows furrowed, and big, tired, turquoise orbs narrowed slightly. "I am going to _maim_ Tsunade-shishou for sending me on these missions…" hissed the kunoichi bitterly.

The young Haruno had been sent on some crappy, dumbass missions in her lifetime as a shinobi, surely enough, but this one took the cake. I mean, not only was the girl a medical _jonin_ now, but a damn good one at that. Being sent on B rank escort missions was not only _ridiculous_, but boring and unnecessary. It wasn't that Sakura was cocky and arrogant, for the girl was anything but. The thing was, such missions were behind her, and wouldn't help her become a better ninja in any way.

The only thing she could think that these missions improved was patience. The young princess that Sakura had been escorting from Fire to Wind was loud, annoying, and rude and wouldn't listen to a word her two personal guards would say. And if that wasn't enough, she didn't care for what the pink-haired kunoichi had to say either. It was like the girl didn't understand that rogue mist-nin were after her neck, and if she _didn't _listen to Sakura, she was as good as dead.

The pink-haired kunoichi smirked and chuckled inwardly as she recalled the night when the princess snuck out of her tent to go for a midnight swim, and against Sakura's wishes, no less. Let's just say little Amami-hime shot herself in the leg by doing so and had been captured by the ninja who had been waiting just outside the campsite. Now Sakura wasn't at all sadistic, she was usually a kind, patient, and helpful girl; but the chick was just talking, and rolling her eyes, and bitching for no good reason. Bitch had it coming! But worn out (and finally understanding how Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi must've felt when she was younger), Sakura reluctantly saved the girl, eliminated the rogue ninja, and with a (forced) smile, delivered the princess and her guards safe and sound to the temple in the Wind Country.

Teal eyes glinted dangerously.

Which brought her back to her point. _Tsunade…_ The young medic smoothly leaped down from the trees, and heaved out a relieved sigh as she slowed to a walk and neared the village gates.

Sakura was happy to be back home in the village. She was so tired, and all she wanted to do was plop down onto her bed or…or couch--which ever one was closest to her door. Her mind was too jumbled, and frazzled, and tired to remember or even think on the subject right now.

Finally stumbling into the gates, but doing so with the grace of any jonin, she closed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips and thinking of what a nice sleep she would get before she would have to wake up tomorrow morning for training. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed a rather flustered-looking Izumo and Kotetsu in a booth to her left.

Raising a rosette eyebrow, she stared at their shivering forms for a while, before forcing a smile. "Hey, guys." She waved at them.

They seemed to freeze at her voice, eyes worried and wide. Kotetsu then elbowed Izumo hard in the ribs, and both tokubetsu jonin forced smiles of their own.

"Hey…Sakura-san! How was your mission?" questioned Izumo as he rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly.

The medic's smile faded. "Fine, thank-you." She looked at them curiously. "Are you…feeling well?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed.

They both exchanged looks. "Of course we're feeling well! Why wouldn't we be feeling well?" replied Izumo a little to quickly for Sakura's taste.

Sakura's gaze wandered from the brown-haired jonin who was unusually chatty, to the black-haired jonin who was uncomfortably silent, and then looked up at the sky, shielding herself from the bright rays. "Right…you guys should stay out of the sun…" she mumbled softly, and then gave another short wave and began to walk towards the Hokage Tower. "I'll see you guys later, don't hurt yourselves while I'm gone."

As she got further away from the two, she heard them let out a sigh.

"You think she'll be angry?" inquired Kotetsu.

"Angry? She'll be _pissed_!" whispered Izumo.

Sakura thought over it a little, before shrugging it off as she thought of Naruto most likely spilling ramen all over her bed or something ridiculous like that.

As she walked into the Hokage Tower, she nodded at all the shinobi bustling around the building, before making her way up the stairs and to the Hokage's door. Sakura knocked on the door softly. "Shishou?"

"Ah, Sakura…come in."

The pink-haired kunoichi did as she was told, and opened the door, walking into the room. She smiled warmly at Shizune, and the black-haired assistant returned the smile as she walked to the desk.

"How did your mission go, Sakura?" asked the Hokage, solemnly.

The young kunoichi stood at full attention. "It went as planned. The princess was escorted to Wind safely, and the rogue ninja were--"

"That's nice, Sakura." interrupted the blonde. "Please…please sit down…" she ordered, caramel eyes looking distracted. She then gestured to a chair in front of her desk.

The pinkette hesitated, but did as she was told. Her shishou never asked anyone to _sit_, and _be comfortable_ unless they were royalty or a guest. And Sakura definitely wasn't either of those, and what's more, Tsunade wasn't looking her in the eye like she usually did. The voluptuous woman usually confronted people head on, and was never this fidgety.

The Hokage quickly took out a bottle of sake and two cups, slamming them on the desk. "Want a drink?"

Sakura shook her head disbelievingly as her worried gaze traveled to Shizune. "Shizune-san…what's going on…?"

Shizune avoided her gaze as well, hugging Ton-Ton to her chest. "I--"

"Sakura," called Tsunade, sending the teal-eyed girl's head whipping back to her shishou. Tsunade interlaced her fingers on top of her desk, her amber gaze locked on her red nails. There was a silence before Lady Hokage finally looked in her eyes, harshly at that. "I have another mission for you…"

The young girl's eyebrow rose. She wasn't in the mood for another mission, but was that really all?

* * *

Onyx eyes narrowed at the villagers around him. He had been walking for at least five minutes by now, and all he saw were looks of fear, looks of anger, looks of wonder. He was really beginning to detest these people. I mean, really. He wasn't a lion at the circus.

What did they think the young Uchiha was going to do in his present state? He only had about 55 percent of his original power back anyway, and his sharigan was being a bitch. _Enough to defeat _these_ weaklings, though_, he thought cockily.

He looked forward as he was being led from the hospital to the Hokage Tower. Today was the day he would meet with the Hokage.

Sasuke finally tuned back in to the babbling blonde before him. "--and don't try anything funny, 'cause there are ANBU around out perimeter, and--"

"Ino, I already heard you the first, and the second, _and_ the third time. Shut-up already; your voice is like a broken record…" stated the young rogue-nin distantly.

The Yamanaka whipped around and gave him an Uchiha worthy glare. "Don't get smart with _me_, Uchiha!" she huffed indignantly as she turned back around and stomped into the Hokage Tower, Sasuke in tow.

The thoughtful and surprised gazes from the shinobi made Sasuke boil with anger. Didn't they have some…important news to be reporting to the Hokage or something?

As they went up the stairs, and to the door of the Hokage's room. Ino's eyes caught Sasuke's. "Be respectful, Uchiha. As you probably know, Hokage-sama has a temper on her," warned the blue-eyed girl.

"Hn." It wasn't that Sasuke was disregarding everything Ino had just said, it was the distracting chakra signature on the other side of the door.

…_Sakura…_

Ino knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The blonde opened the door a smidge. "Wait here for a moment." And she slid in.

Sasuke looked through the crack, and saw the first head of pink hair he had seen in a while.

Ino bowed. "Good afternoon, Hokage-sama."

"Hello, Ino," greeted the Godaime.

Sakura turned around, her arm resting on the back of her seat. Her turquoise eyes danced, and a bright smile adorned her face upon seeing her dear friend.

"Ino-pig!" She smirked. "I hope my shifts at the hospital weren't too much for you."

The cerulean-eyed medic scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Believe me, Forehead, your shifts would feel like _heaven_ compared to what _your_ new mission is…" She rolled her eyes. "The guys a fucking dick!"

Sakura sent her friend a questioning look, eyebrows furrowed. "Who?" She stood abruptly. "Wait--what?"

Tsunade rubbed her temples as she gave her former-trainee a troubled look. "What Ino _means_ is, your new mission is to…"

The young blonde opened the door, and in walked Sakura's onyx-haired nightmare.

She gasped, trying to form the right words. "_You_…" she growled, sharp voice mixed with malice.

Sasuke looked the girl in the eye, and in that jade gaze he saw such anger, and hate, and ferocity, but his emotionless mask did not falter for a second.

"Shishou, what the hell is going on here?" barked Sakura as she lashed out at Tsunade, obviously not able to control the hate she held for the boy.

The Hokage only sighed, continuing with her sentence. "…is to be Uchiha Sasuke's personal bodyguard, escort, and medic until further notice…"

There was a thick silence that filled the room as soon as Tsunade finished, and it was safe to assume that nobody moved, thought, or breathed for either reasons of surprise, or fright at what the two surprised teens would do.

Finally, Sakura slammed her fists on the desk, as both of the surprised people shouted in unison, one considerably louder than the other, "WHAT?!"

Step forward: Sakura was _gorgeous_; steps back: the boy had expected _death_ before this, and Naruto was right; it was _possible_ the pink-haired kunoichi would attempt to kill the Uchiha…very possible…

**A/N:** Well, I hoped you liked it! It wasn't that long, and for that I'm sorry, though it DID take a while to actually write and type it (yes, I'm probably one of the few people that acutally write it down, THEN type it!).

Also, I noticed that this was kind of a cliche way to get the two together! But there is a reason Tsunade did this, and that will be revealed next chapter!

Again, I hoped you liked it, and I luv you**IDontNeedToReply**! Plz review! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	4. History Repeats Itself

A/N: Hey! So…it's been a VERY long time since I last updated! I was trying to do that once a week thing in the summer, which was working for a while ALL up till school was starting, of course! I'm thinking I really want to try once every two weeks, or once every month. But since during the week I'm very busy with school and sports, and during the weekend I try my best to have a social life, it's hard…but anyway, enough about me! On to the chapter! Hope you like it!

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Chapter 3: History Repeats Itself

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously, but she lowered her voice considerably, for she knew it was the Hokage of Konohagakure she was speaking with and that no matter how angry she was, she still had to show respect.

"Tsunade-shishou…" Her voice seemed to quiver with anger, and her eyes held misunderstanding, and a slight plead. "What is the meaning of this…?"

Tsunade's nose flared as she closed her almond eyes, trying to hold still her temper, as well. "You and I both know that the explanation for this is difficult," answered the Hokage sternly. "Uchiha Sasuke is an S-class criminal and has defeated Orochimaru, Uchiha Itachi, and Deidara of Akatsuki…" She opened her eyes swiftly. "Upon returning to the village alone, that leads me to believe that he has abandoned or left-for-dead Team Hebi, and will no longer be concerned with this group," she continued, and then turned in her chair, looking thoughtfully out her windows.

The three teenagers in the room all began to raise their eyebrows inquisitively; there was a catch in her voice.

"But, I have also been wondering about the lack of Akatsuki movement these days, and if the answer to this includes Uchiha, here." The Hokage paused, as if trying to figure another way to word the cause of this mission, but couldn't think of one that wouldn't piss off her pink-haired apprentice anymore than she was.

Sakura's arms crossed, and her lips thinned as she sent a cold, sideways glare the Uchiha's way. "Which is exactly why he should be behind bars being interrogated right now!" she spat seriously. "If he needs medical assistance, wouldn't it be wiser for him to be guarded by ANBU at all times and be visited by a medic-nin as needed?" questioned the girl. "I mean, couldn't having him away from one place be dangerous?"

Tsunade pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked the Uchiha's way. His eyes no longer held surprise (go figure), but they looked very curious. She sighed. "Sasuke will be spending the majority of his time in interrogation, and when he is not, will be suspended to house arrest while the council and I will be trying to figure this whole thing out," stated the Godaime as she clasped her fingers together on top of her desk and laid her chin on them.

Sakura's eyes were calculating. "Why have I been chosen for this mission, shishou?" Anyone could hear the venom in her words, and everyone chose not to look her straight in the eyes.

The Hokage scowled, obviously getting tired of the questioning. She had gone through a lot of scenarios and had planned a lot throughout this last week to arrive at her conclusion; even sometimes putting off sleep just trying to find ways to make things easier on herself, her village, and her poor protégé. "You are a very strong medical-jonin, Sakura; I need you for this mission. I'm afraid you are the only one I found trustworthy of researching the Uchiha doujutsu, and capable of maybe finding a cure or antidote to slow down, or stop the side effects of using it too often." The older woman's face softened, and she sighed yet again. "Besides, you know Uchiha Sasuke the most; I cant have him being with just anybody for reasons that you do not need to know of."

"Sorry, Forehead," came Ino's surprisingly soft, and meek voice. "I'm not nearly as smart as you, there's no way I could do that kind of research and come out with anything helpful," she said, truly sorry, and pitying the girl and her mission.

Sakura smiled at her friend. It wasn't exactly assuring, but it was truthful. "It's ok, Ino." Sakura's facial expression soon changed as she clenched her fists, and looked at her shishou again. "Shishou…" she whispered, but then her voice began to climb the ladder of sound again. "Sasuke and I do not—"

"Sakura…" warned Tsunade, giving her a stern look that quickly put her in her place.

The pinkette immediately closed her mouth, and put her head down with a look of controlled devastation, as if she were embarrassed for her actions. And then she gazed up at her shishou, a pleading but resolved look in her orbs.

"Please forgive me for my rash actions." She bowed low and politely, but with hesitance. "I am sorry…" she murmured softly.

Tsunade almost felt her heart clench for her young apprentice, but did not let it show as she cleared her throat. "So, you _do_ accept this mission, Sakura?"

Sakura kept her eyes down, her lips thinning slightly. "I, Haruno Sakura, accept this mission." She answered solemnly.

The Hokage nodded. "Then, Ino, you are dismissed."

The young blonde excited quickly with a small, "See ya, Forehead".

"And Sakura and Sasuke, please stay for the briefing of the mission." She ordered.

At this, Sakura straightened up as the Uchiha came to stand by her, but not too close. Sakura couldn't help but eyeball the Uchiha next to her, suspiciously. _Smart boy…_

Sasuke only hoped this plan of the Hokage's allowed him to be around Sakura as much as possible, while the young kunoichi hoped for the opposite.

--

"Thank-you, Hokage-sama…I will report to you weekly on my research," stated the green-eyed girl, as she bowed lowly.

Sasuke followed suit, giving a quick bow before turning and walking out the door with Sakura. As soon as they closed the door behind them, Sakura turned on the onyx-haired boy.

"Since you're under my command, I have a few rules…" Sasuke rose an eyebrow in curiosity. "Do not talk unless you are spoken to, do not go anywhere, or do anything without my permission—"

A shinobi walked pass, glaring at the Uchiha in disdain, and Sasuke took a threatening step forward, before feeling a small hand on his chest.

"And don't _do_ that, Sasuke. People already hate you enough, no need to make a commotion. Your sentence has not been decided yet, either. It would be wise to act right!" she scolded coldly, her eyes narrowed sternly.

He looked down a the girl below him, watching as she waited for the other shinobi to be out of sight before she gave him a look of disgust. He noticed how her small, delicate, but firm hand still held him in place, and then smirked. "You can remove your hand now…"

She neither gave him a look of embarrassment, or even the most discreet flush, but instead a look of anger. "Don't get cocky," she spat. And with that, she swiped her hand away from his chest like it was fire, and then turned on her heels, beginning to walk away.

Sasuke rose both eyebrows at the girl, before giving a pleasant smirk at the cherry blossom that would soon be his.

--

Sasuke had been watching Sakura for a while now as they walked through the village once again; the way her hips shifted with every step, the way she commanded space on the streets as she marched through the village, the way small strands of hair fell out of her messy bun.

He smirked. _You _will_ be mine, Sakura…_ He wanted her, needed her to revive his clan. It only helped that she was seen as "strong". That was the best thing to see in the future of the Uchiha clan, though, he had to admit he was taking a risk with her hair; he could only hope his gene's were stronger. Nonetheless, he wanted her, and Uchiha's _always_ got what they wanted.

"Sakura-sensei, Sakura-sensei!" Suddenly, the pink-haired kunoichi stopped in her tracks, and placed a hand on her hip. "Oh, thank Kami we found you, Sakura-sensei," sighed a rather relieved sounding young girl.

Sasuke quirked up an eyebrow once again. _Sakura-_sensei_?_

--

Tsunade glared at the door her young apprentice had walked out of for a long time, her fingers still clasped and a tooth tugging at her bottom lip. She glared at it long it hard. She could only hope she was doing the right thing; she had to put the safety of her village first and foremost, even before her beloved apprentice. Her eyes narrowed. _Sakura…_The girl was practically like her daughter and the pain she had displayed on her face earlier had almost made Tsunade want to think twice about the mission she was assigning. Was she thinking straight? Would the council change their minds? Would _Sakura_ be ok?

Sakura had become so much stronger, a much better shinobi since she was a chunnin, and wise beyond her years. Having seen that look of doubt in her eyes had made the Hokage question her own sanity. Was this too much for her former apprentice to handle?

Tsunade scoffed, her red fingernails dug into the delicate skin of her hand. What was she to do if her plan didn't work? Would Sasuke try to run away again? She didn't think Naruto and Sakura would be able to handle it if he did, and Sasuke was so powerful now…who knew if they could stop him if he _did_ plan to leave. The questions never ended.

The Godaime Hokage covered her face with hands as she turned in her chair so that she was facing away from the door. She barely noticed the worry on Shizune's face, and the slight snort of disapproval from TonTon.

"Shizune, please get me some water…" she mumbled stressfully.

"Of course," said Shizune as she placed the pig on the desk, and ran to get her mistress a cup of water. When the black-haired woman handed the Hokage her beverage, she stifled a worried sigh, actually frightened as to why the voluptuous woman was asking for anything other than sake. Tsunade gulped down her drink hastily, before slamming it on the table, and looking at the young woman she trained so long ago, the young woman who was just as much a daughter to her as Sakura was. The blonde-haired woman sighed, she didn't even have to ask, and she knew what Shizune wanted to know.

"Sakura is the only one that can do this…" The Hokage continued on. "…because Sakura is the only thing Sasuke wants…" Shizune's eyes widened. "Uchiha Sasuke came for one thing and for one thing only: to revive his clan." Her honey colored gaze narrowed. "…for Sakura. If he does not get what he wants, I'm afraid we will not be able to stop him if he decides to leave. He's powerful, and I think I could say for the rest of Konoha that it's better to have him with us, than against us." She crossed her arms under her chest and closed her eyes wisely.

"Then, why Sakura?" questioned Shizune, everything about her screaming that she was worried for the pinkette, as well. "I mean, how do you know it's her that he wants?"

Carmel eyes gazed at the inquiring woman calculatingly, before closing again. The Hokage leaned forward, assuming her normal clasped fingers, elbows on table position. "Let's see if you'll understand it this way…" Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed as if she was thinking very hard, before sharp hazel eyes locked in with curious onyx. "History repeats itself."

Realization hit Shizune quickly and a million thoughts began to storm her head. A gasp escaped her lips. "You mean how Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are—"

"—practically a reincarnation of us Sannin…" sighed Tsunade. "Jiraiya and I loved Orochimaru as a teammate, a friend, and even before Dan, I thought of him as my one and only lover," she murmured sullenly. "But, Orochimaru had a dream, and he pushed anything and anyone out of his way to get it. And if he didn't need Konoha, then he didn't, and he could still succeed without us. I believe there is only one ninja in every generation that is born with that much drive and power, and it's so horrible to see them tainted like that." Her eyes hardened. "And I believe that that one ninja is Sasuke."

The Hokage sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Fortunately, Sasuke does not share the same dream as Orochimaru." She said, propping her feet up on her desk, and resting her elbow on the arm of the chair. Tsunade lay her head down on it, looking to the side and avoiding all eye contact with Shizune. She knew she was angry, but that was only because she didn't quite understand it yet. "Sasuke's dream was to avenge his clan by killing Itachi, and to revive the Uchiha's with Sakura _because_, whether Sasuke likes it or not, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura are all he has. Those are the only people in Konoha that he has strong ties with, the only people who thrived to trust him when they knew he couldn't be trusted, but didn't want to believe it."

Shizune could hear Tsunade's voice crack slightly, and the sadness and malice in her voice showed she was opening wounds her mistress preferred closed. Because hey made her feel vulnerable. But the obsidian-eyed woman was sure her own anger could match that of her senseis. Making Sakura be with, _reproduce_ with a man she didn't even love was just cruel. "So, you're just going to give Sakura up? Just like that?" questioned Shizune through gritted teeth.

Tsunade's eyes quickly locked in with her assistants once more, but this time they held warning. How dare she think of her as that heartless, and selfish?

"Sakura is a ninja. She is smart, and she knew if ever Uchiha Sasuke were to return, this would be her mission," Tsunade answered simply, but with a little snap in her tone. "Besides, Sakura is a big girl now, and can make the choice if she doesn't want to be with him. Chances are Sasuke will keep trying; he's stubborn, and so is she. It should take a while between the both of them." Hope shimmered in her orbs as she spoke. "And maybe…maybe he can get her to love him again…Can you believe that, Shizune?" Tsunade chuckled. "This important time has come down to us hoping that two young, unsuspectful ninja, can fall in love?"

Shizune's face contorted into one of skepticism. "But, My Lady, there's no way…" she paused. "Sakura's fallen completely out of love with Sasuke. The thought of him disgust her. This mission can't be possible!"

The Hokage's face became solemn, and she was quiet for a long time before she spoke again. "Then we can only hope that she can stall him long enough for us think of a plan, and pray that there is still something inside of Sakura that's pointing her towards Sasuke." Her voice became rough and she put on the air fitting of a kage. "Our village…the whole Land of Fire depends on it…"

_History repeats itself, indeed, Sakura. But I believe that you have the power to change the future. Just as Sasuke will become one of the most powerful men alive, and just as Naruto will become Hokage!_

She closed her eyes tightly.

_Just as you, Naruto, and Sasuke will take my, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru's place as the new Sannin!_

--

"We've checked everywhere, but we can't find Naruto-sensei!" wailed a young boy with bright, red hair and big chocolate eyes.

"Calm down, Arata-kun, I'm sure he's somewhere…"

_Naruto too? _Thought Sasuke. _This village has become delusional if they put a kid in charge of a bunch of kids._ He let out a snide snort, and noticed Sakura glare at him out of the corner of her eye.

Six eyes looked around the medic at him in hopes of seeing who he was.

"Sakura-sensei, who's the stiff?" questioned the boisterous red-head.

The young girl with an annoyingly high-pitched voice let out a growl, her green orbs shaking in anger. "Arata, you idiot!" She bumped said boy on the head. "Don't talk about him like he's not here!"

"Aww, Kiyoko-chan, you don't have to hit!" he murmured as he rubbed his head, and pouted his lips. "You've been really bitchy lately…"

"What was that?!" screeched the girl, her long, blonde pig-tails swinging as she turned on her teammate.

"Shut-up, the both of you," ordered a tan boy with skin almost the color of carmel. He had his arms crossed and eyes closed.

The two immediately closed their mouths and stared at the brownish-red haired boy with tan skin, one with a love struck look and the other with annoyance.

"That man is Uchiha Sasuke, last member of the Uchiha Clan. He ran away from Konoha 12 years ago, in hopes of avenging his clan by killing his brother, Uchiha Itachi, and succeeded." The kid opened his surprisingly bright hazel, bronze eyes, though they held no emotion.

Sasuke smirked. "Hn," he groaned. "Kid's done his homework," he stated as he mimicked the young boy and crossed his arms.

Sakura completely ignored the Uchiha, and smiled happily at the genin. "That's right, Masaru-kun, but you also left out that he is a heartless, egotistical bastard, and chose to "train" with a rapist snake-man that likes little boys, over his friends!" she explained as if she was telling a bedtime story to little children.

The ex-ninja of the Leaf resisted the urge to strangle the kunoichi, and gritted his teeth remembering not to activate his Sharingan.

"But other than that, you've got it down packed, don't you?" she cooed with a smirk.

"Woah, how come I don't know that much about Uchiha-san?" inquired Arata, chocolate eyes curious.

Masaru glared at him. "Because you're a dumbass."

Kiyoko put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, Masaru-kun's right, Arata, as always!"

"Hey, I'm not _that_ dumb, and Masaru is barely EVER right!" replied Arata.

Sakura shook her head. "Anyways, guys, have you checked the Hyuuga household? Naruto might be with Hinata."

A blonde eyebrow rose. "Really? He's with Hinata-san today? We're suppose to be training!" shouted Kiyoko, as she stomped her foot. The hazel-eyed boy sighed and began to walk away. "Ma—Masaru-kun! Where are you going? The Hyuuga mansion is the other way!"

The reddish-brown haired boy scoffed, putting his hands into his pockets. "I'm not about to waste my time finding sensei. I'm going home," he said impassively, and then began to walk away again.

The blonde threw her arms up. "Ah! Wait, Masaru-kun! We should go to lunch or something," she screamed at him. When she noticed he wasn't listening she tried to scurry after him, but Arata was holding her back by her arm.

"I would _love_ to go to lunch with you, Kiyoko-chan!" exclaimed the red-head excitedly.

The young, blonde kunoichi growled at her teammate. "_You're_ not invited!" she barked, swiping her hand out of his grasp. "And don't touch me!" She gazed back at the retreating brunette. "Masaru-kun, please wait!" And she ran after him.

"B-b-but," stuttered Arata, as he too began running after him. "Kiyoko-chan!"

Sakura waited awhile before sighing and continuing to walk, Sasuke in tow. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "History really does repeat itself, ne?"

"Hn."

Sakura's house smelled of raspberries, contrary to what people might think because of her hair color. That had to be the first thing Sasuke noticed about her two bedroom apartment. It was quaint, and clean, almost a little too clean. He expected that much from Sakura, though.

The pinkette walked over to her kitchen, and placed her key on the counter, then went over to the couch and began taking off all the scrolls on her back, and medicine and kunai packs strapped to her thigh and bottom, throwing them on the couch. They had already taken off their shoes at the door.

"There's a guest bedroom down the hall, and the bathroom's right across from it. You may snack on anything in the kitchen, and I'll be making dinner at around 5:30. You will be ready to leave for your interrogation session by 6:00 AM tomorrow, am I clear?" asked Sakura sternly, as she began to take off her headband

"Yeah," answered Sasuke, and he smirked when she began to walk away. "…sensei."

Sakura turned around, giving Sasuke a skeptical look, before watching him leave towards the guestroom.

Step Forward: He was finally in his soon-to-be wife's home; Steps Back: Sakura did not show the same emotions she would've had he been in her home twelve years ago, and he would probably have to try much harder to capture her heart if he ever wanted Sakura as his own.

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**A/N: **So, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Um, I guess I'm not REALLY getting anywhere yet, but that just means more chapter for you guys…YAY! Hopefully, I'll get another chapter up in the near future, ne? Well, plz review! Luv ya and laterz!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

--SAYURI--


	5. Easy Button

**A/N: **Hey, guys! When was the last time I updated? Thanksgiving, right? I think this update isn't as long of a wait as it used to be…Hopefully, I'll update even more during my break! I have like 3 weeks before school! Well, enough about me, onto the story!

Sorry if you guys don't like this one so much! I just really wanted to get it out…forgive me!!!

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Chapter 4: Easy Button

_Her lips grazed up the side of his neck, planting butterfly kisses on it, before the girl rose up over his body to where she was straddling him. Her long hair was cascading down her shoulders and back, and her turquoise eyes were half-lidded, and brimming with lust._

_Sasuke brought his hands up to her waist, feeling and tickling the delicate, creamy skin beneath his digits. The rosette-haired kunoichi tossed her head back, letting out an erotic moan while showing off her milky neck. When her gaze finally caught his again, she began to finger the hem-line of his boxers. "Sasuke…" she purred seductively._

_He smirked. It was only a matter of time before she fell for him._

"_Sasuke," she moaned yet again, this time tugging at his last article of clothing. She began to lower her pouty, red lips onto his. "Sasuke…" she whispered…_

"SASUKE!!!!"

He woke up to the cold feeling of being drenched by water and upon contact, growled, eyes instinctively flashing red with the sharingan, before the pain from the day before forced him to deactivate it.

"You are _late_! I ordered you to be up at 6:00 sharp, and it is now 6:45. We are to be at the interrogation base in 15 minutes!" For the first couple of sentences, all Sasuke heard was a bunch of incessant yelling. But now that he could focus on the girl, he could see the apparent disappointment on her face. And as he noticed the water dripping off his own body, he found his own anger, and shot her a glare that matched her own. "I have a schedule to follow Sasuke, I have things to do, and I don't have time for you to disregard my commands," she said sternly, hands on her hips, and then she threw a shirt in his face. "So, put your clothes on, and don't bother with the hair and the make-up." She stomped over to the door. "You won't need it where you're going." And with that, she slammed the door behind her.

Sasuke clenched his fists, holding himself back as to not kill the girl. Whether it be one hundred percent, sixty percent, _ten_ percent of his power, Sakura would always be weak, and he would always be able to defeat her.

He sighed sitting up, as his mind wandered back to his rather promiscuous dream. He smirked. His dreams usually came true, and this one would for sure.

Then again, it was only a dream, and Sauske could of sworn it was reality, but after looking at Sakura's face the Uchiha could conclude that it was far from.

He still had so much work to do.

--

As Sasuke closed the door to the bathroom, he noticed Sakura towards the edge of the living area putting her long tresses into a high ponytail, similar to that of Ino's. It was apparent by her white nurse's outfit that she had a shift at the hospital.

She did some sort of a double take at him before closing her eyes, and letting her long hair fall down her back. I was longer than Sasuke had ever seen it, reaching the bottom of her back in a ponytail.

Sakura turned around; a sigh escaping her lips, before somewhat of a pouty look played on her face, but her eyes seemed aloof. "I see you're ready. Let's go then," she said as she grabbed her headband and her thigh pack and walked to the door.

The Uchiha silently walked over to her, and grabbed the knob, opening the door. He smirked charmingly. "After you."

She gave Sasuke a careful look, but took up his offer and casually walked out the door. Once he closed it behind him, she locked the door, and stuck the key back in her pocket. "That was an odd gesture of kindness, Sasuke," she spoke up, and then began descending the stairs. "Lose a bet, or something?" She eyed him warily, hands in her pockets.

He mirrored her action, and followed her as she began to walk again, this time toward the part of town that was predominately ninja. Sakura lived a little bit out, where some of the civilians were. The people out here were warmer to her because of this, and usually enjoyed her company, companionship, and immediate protection.

Sasuke inwardly grunted. That would have to change when Sakura moved in with him back at the Uchiha mansion. "It's called common courtesy," He smirked. "_Sakurako_…" The way he said her childhood name made anger course through her veins. She fought the urge to punch her mission in the face, and let out a slow breath.

"Don't call me that," she instructed calmly. Sakura wasn't always known for keeping her control. She could bring others to it, but the challenge was bringing her own self to it. She had gotten better over the past years, and learned to sustain composure during those important times, but Sasuke was a different story. Everyone who was anyone knew that with him, the pinkette was practically a bomb bound to explode.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. "As you wish…"

She turned around, inevitably stopping the both of them from going anywhere. "You know," she murmured, hands on her hip, as she chewed on her lip in thought. "I don't like your new attitude very much."

Sasuke looked her straight in the eyes, smirk still in play. "I'm not so fond of yours either," he retorted coolly.

They stayed that way for awhile; jade piercing into obsidian, fire dancing in her eyes. It was then that Sasuke noticed Sakura's eyes were like his now; opaque, with no shimmer of curiosity, or childish innocence like they once were. They looked void and dark, now; not like the look he had seen her give Ino or the genin. She really didn't like him.

After about a minute, Sakura backed down, looking him up and down with question before dropping one hand off her hip, turning on her heels, and walking away. "Hm," she grunted indignantly as they neared the shinobi part of town.

They did not talk the rest of the way there.

--

Once they had neared the interrogation base, Sasuke had noticed the massive hordes of people had lessened considerably, and if anybody were around, it was only the token few shinobi who worked or lived around there.

Sakura stopped once she got to a door with two shinobi in grey suits guarding it. They nodded towards her, and she smiled lightly.

"I'm a little late, but I have Uchiha Sasuke here for his session." They glanced at the sharingan-wielder before looking back at the pinkette. "Are Anko-sensei and Ibiki-san still available?" she questioned, but with a bold voice that showed that she almost had some sort of authority.

It was amazing that Sakura still referred to Anko as "sensei". Even Kakashi, Kurenai, and Gai preferred their old students not to call them that anymore. They were all at least jonin now, so they were on the same level, and if their students decided they deserved any kind of extra respect, they preferred "san", and only because of the difference in age.

Sakura probably still called the purple-haired tokubetsu jonin "Anko-sensei" out of some form of respect, or intimidation of the women. Anybody would guess the same only because they _felt_ the same way.

Before anybody could answer the pinkette, a woman busted through the big metal doors, a man in tow.

"Of course, I'm still available; I've been waiting to mess with_ Sasuke-chan _all week!" blurted a loud, excited, yet sly woman. The guards backed away a bit in surprise, and both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened for a millisecond.

"Anko-san," gasped a guard. "Ibiki-san, w-what are you doing here?" he stuttered out, face stricken with surprise.

The beige-eyed woman growled, turning on the one who had spoken. "What do you think I'm doing here?! Picking up my patient!" She turned quickly lashing out on the other as she grabbed his collar, pulling him close. "How long have they been here?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

The guards stammered trying to explain, which only made the irritable woman even more agitated.

"Now, now, Mitarashi, don't hurt the interns," ordered a man with scars across his face, his tall and rough stature scaring the young guards even more. "They're the only one's we have. How many other chuunin do you know that actually want to work here?" he jeered, winking at the pinkette playfully.

Anko gave a small, sinister chuckle and then smirked. "That's right. I promised to be on my _best behavior_." The woman bowed deeply and held out her hand, gesturing towards the long, dark hallway. She looked straight at Sasuke. "Right this way, princess," she joked, a sarcastic ring to her voice.

Sakura stifled a laugh and covered her mouth, looking away as Sasuke glared daggers at the smirking woman and walked stiffly through the doors.

Ibiki's lip tilted up a little bit into what could be a smile. "We should only be a few hours, Haruno. We'll contact you if anything changes," he explained simply.

"Yeah, no worries, Sakura. He's in good hands." Anko smiled. "I promise to play nice, and all that good stuff, ne?" sighed the tokubetsu jonin, before walking inside after the Uchiha.

Sakura nodded. "I'm actually going down to the hospital to relieve Ino of a few hours, so I should be back around 2:30 or 3:00," she said, putting her hands behind her back.

Ibiki nodded as well. "Understood. See you then, Haruno." And with that he walked inside the door and closed it. Sakura was about to walk away as she heard the two young ninja let out a long-held breath.

She chuckled. "If you get to know her, her bark is worse than her bite." She paused, looking the two up and down, and smiling at their innocent, sweet looking faces. Sakura winked. "But at the rate that _you're_ going at, I would consider a new internship…" she suggested before walking away.

--

They had passed through many corridors, before finally settling on a room with a desk, a chair, and a one-way window by the door. There was one lone light hanging in it, and Sasuke winced, because he would rather be in here, than those hallways again. It smelled of death, of blood, and screams of pain echoed off the walls. It reminded him so much of Orochimaru's many lairs, and all his…"experiments"

Anko smiled slyly. "Make yourself at home, Uchiha; we'll be here for awhile." She gestured towards the chair, and Sasuke snorted, plopping down in it.

"Make it quick, Mitarashi," commanded Ibiki as he walked out of the door and looked through the glass window.

The plum-haired woman growled slightly, and then pouted. "He's always ruining my fun," she mumbled before looking at her victim. "But, anyways, enough about me." She smiled sinisterly and then chuckled. "Let's hear about you, ne? First things first, though."

Sasuke gave the jonin a warning look, as he began to believe what the shadow-ninja had said. All the women were crazy, and this one had mood swings to match.

Anko walked over to the desk, and leaned against it with both or her hands. "You have killed your brother, haven't you?" Sasuke nodded. "And Orochimaru is done and over with, am I right?"

"Yeah."

There was a long silence before Anko shifted, and looked down with a small chuckle. "Now, for some reason I just cant believe that…" she whispered softly as she let go of the desk, and fingered the back of her neck. "He's all gone?" she looked him straight in the eye. "All of him is _gone_?"

Sasuke sat unfazed. "As far as I know of…"

Her eyes looked worried, almost to a fanatic level. "You haven't heard _anything_?" The Uchiha could tell by her look that if wanted to know something, she could find anything she wanted to.

"Kabuto."

"Kabuto…his assistant?"

"He came into the room after I left. Apparently, he found Orochimaru's remnants, and molded them into his own body. For the time being, Kabuto will most likely act as his container," explained Sasuke as he thought back to something he had heard from one of Orochimaru's past experiments in the North base.

Anko bit her lip, and put her hands on her hips in thought. "Ok," she spoke. "An answer to that will be found another time…" But he could tell that that was really what she wanted to talk about. Anko had once been wound up in Orochimaru's lies. And because of that, there was no escape. She would still always be bound to him. It was a curse. Sasuke had seen the people Orochimaru had tested on, and without him, most of them were probably dead. Anko was one of the lucky ones.

Anko broke out of her train of thought, and smiled brightly. "You're being rather cooperative, Uchiha!" She exclaimed walking towards him. "Now, what of your little team, ugh—Team Hebi, is it?"

"Dead. All except one."

"Which one?" inquired Anko crossing her arms.

Sasuke crossed his armas as well, tired of these seemingly useless questions. "Juugo."

Anko's eyebrows furrowed. "Juugo…is he dangerous?" Sasuke nodded. "What? How dangerous?!"

"Juugo is not stable. He kills everyone in his way. There are only two people in the world that can calm him: a guy name Kimmimaro, and I," answered Sasuke emotionlessly.

Anko sighed harshly. "Great!" She stalked towards him. "That's just another problem for us to deal with. How reckless can one kid—" She hesitated, eyes widening as she gawked down at the boy.

He smirked. _So, she noticed? If this didn't shut her up, nothing would…_

"Y-your curse mark…" she stammered breathlessly. "…it's _gone_!" She walked around him frantically for a while before looking towards the glass. "Ibiki!" she called.

The man outside the window closed his eyes slowly, before exhaling and opening the door. "What is it, Mitarashi?" he asked, walking threw the door.

"His curse mark has disappeared!"

Ibiki's eyes widened slightly before he walked quickly over to the Uchiha, looking to the back of his neck. "That's impossible."

"Well, obviously _not_, Ibiki!" screeched Anko, as she glanced at her partner. She turned her gaze back to the ex-leaf-nin. "Who did this, Uchiha?" inquired the beige-eyed woman.

Sasuke frowned slightly. "When I fought Itachi, he pulled him out of me. I don't know how, and I don't have anymore details."

The two interrogators shared a look before Anko went back to gawking at the boy.

He smirked at their reactions. "Anymore questions?" Ibiki put his composure back together at a rate that rivaled that of Sasuke's, and Anko's face still had surprise written all over. The Uchiha then heard a little ruckus, and a few angry shouts right out his door, before it busted open.

Both chuunin from before stood panting, a blonde in front of them. "I'm sorry, Anko-san, Ibiki-san, we tried to stop him…" began one of the guards.

"I told you I just wanted to see teme!" yelled a familiar boisterous blonde. Blue eyes then settled into onyx, before he laughed and waved. "Hey, teme, you want breakfast?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha's in a session right now," scolded Ibiki, and the blonde winced, shrinking under the man's stature.

"No," said Anko. "Let him go." She grabbed her shoulder, and gave off a distracted look, as she walked towards the door. "I have no further questions for him today." And she left.

--

Sakura smiled as she knocked on a door. "Ino?" She knocked one more time, letting herself into the vacant hospital room. "Ino, you in here?"

She halted as she saw her nervous looking friend with her back turned to the window. Ino was biting her lip, and her hands were behind her back. Sakura chuckled. "What are you doing?" she questioned as she neared the blonde and then cocked her head to get a better look out the window. "Who's out there?"

Ino gasped, sheepishly pulling a strand of hair behind her ear. "What?" she asked frantically. "Nothing…n-no one! You're paranoid, Forehead," insisted the blonde medic, as she did her best to stay in the pinkette's line of vision.

"What are you up to?" Sakura lunged at the window. "Let me see!"

Ino's eyes widened. "No!" she screamed, as she grabbed onto her best friend, stopping her from reaching the window. They both pushed at eachother for awhile before Sakura finally tossed Ino to the patient's bed. "Ouch!" she shouted as she scowled at the teal-eyed girl.

Sakura playfully stuck her tongue out at the blonde and then looked out the window with a gasp. The gasp soon turned into a giggle that was anything but sweet. "Oh my…" She smirked. "If it isn't Inuzuka Kiba…"

Ino crossed her arms and glared towards the side, a small pout on her face. "Yeah, so what?"

"Your new interest, Pig?" asked Sakura, completely ignoring what the blonde had said.

Ino sighed and stood up off the bed, walking over to the window by her friend. "Well, come on, Sakura; he's _gorgeous_," she exhaled, as she tossed her head back. Sakura rolled her eyes, gazing back at the dog-lover. "And kind, and loyal, and energetic…" said her friend softly.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at her friends dreamy expression. The way she looked at him made Sakura smile out of happiness and pride for the blonde. But she wouldn't let her off so easy.

The girl with rosette locks scoffed. "Come on, Ino, are you talking about him or the dog?"

Ino waited awhile, looking at Sakura with astonishment, before chuckling half-heartedly. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" She looked out the window again, and without noticing it, began stalking the boy with her eyes again. "Besides, why would he want a girl like me anyway?" Sakura worriedly gazed over at the blonde medic as she began to hear tears in her voice. "Shikamaru didn't even want me. He's one of my closest friends, Sakura, and he wouldn't accept me." She shook her head. "Sleeping around with all those different guys, what was I thinking?"

Sakura smiled slightly as she took a handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to the crying girl. "You passed the test," she stated quietly.

A tear slipped from her eye as she gave the pinkette a confused look. "Huh? What test?"

"Ino-chan, you just spilled your heart out over this guy," Sakura chuckled. "It's apparent you like him a lot."

The Haruno had never known Ino to blush, but it was happening. "It is?" she sniffled out, before blowing into the napkin.

Sakura bumped into the girl playfully. "Yeah," she assured. "And, come on, you're talking to Konoha's number one bachelorette here. How many people do you think _I've_ dated in the past few years?"

"Oh, please, Sakura; don't give me that crap!" hissed Ino. "You have Tadashi." Her eyes softened. "And, Sakura, you _love_ him."

The pinkette's face seemed to lighten at his name, and she smiled. "Yes, I do love Tada very much." Sakura walked away from the window. "But it takes time to find someone that you want to be with for the rest of your life. Love doesn't have an easy button; he won't just show up on your door step. In any case, I think you should give Kiba a try…" She looked at the clock across the room. "It's about time for me to go."

Ino gazed at her friend, longing for the beautiful look on her face right now. It was obvious Sakura was thinking about her boyfriend. It was said that people became even more beautiful when they were in love, and it was apparent on the emerald-eyed girl's face. She hadn't seen Sakura so happy in a long time, and she would do anything to keep it that way.

Ino's lips turned down into a frown. "I can't see you do it, Forehead," spoke Ino sternly.

Sakura turned around as she furrowed her bubble gum eyebrows at the blue-eyed medic. "Excuse me?"

"I can't see you throw away everything you've been through for this mission. So what, I have a little crush on Kiba, you are _in love_ with Tadashi!"

"Ino…"

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "I'll take the mission, Sakura. I won't let this happen to you!" uproared Ino, her face turning red with anger.

The cherry blossom gave her friend a stern look. Now, she was being ridiculous. "It is not your choice, Ino. I will not let my private relationship get in the way of my mission."

"Sakura, this could affect your _whole life_!" shouted Ino.

The pinkette took a deep breath. "Ino, are you _crazy_?! This could affect the safety of _Konoha_, Ino, _Konoha_!"

Ino inhaled deeply, nose flaring. "But, what about Tadashi? You're just going to _leave_ him?!"

"Tadashi and I have talked about it, and it is our fault for taking it further than need be," explained Sakura imperturbably.

The blonde-haired, aqua-eyed woman paled. "But, what if you actually do have to help him revive his clan, Sakura? I won't let you…I can't let you…" She ended in a desperate whisper, as she looked at her friend sadly, because even if she didn't show it, there were still pieces inside of her that were still broken, and could not ever be fixed. She was still emotionally wounded, and bringing Sasuke around could only reopen those wounds.

"If push comes to shove…" Sakura began, her voice breaking slightly. She clenched her fists, because this mission still hurt her; still made her frightful of her future with _him_. "I will not hesitate to complete my mission. Konoha…my beloved village, and the people within come first…" she answered softly, before turning towards the door again.

Ino's eyes widened, as even more tears spilled form them. "Sakura …" she called, and the apprentice of the Hokage hesitated. "Sometimes, the story doesn't come with a happy ending. Sometimes, you have to make your own."

"Happy endings?" Sakura scoffed. She let out a curt, dry laugh. "Ino, we are shinobi. There are no happy endings…"

It hurt Sakura to exit the room and leave her best friend to cry alone on her behalf. It hurt because they both knew that Sakura was right. That happy endings were of make believe and fairytale; that happy endings did not exist in the shinobi world.

--

Naruto chuckled as he hastily drank from his water, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "The onigiri is good, isn't it, teme?" he asked, and then smiled brightly. "Hinata-chan made it herself. She's such a great cook! She'd have a fit if she knew you were eating some, though. She can be kind of self-conscious about it! I don't know why, though; it's great!" rambled the noisy blonde, as he picked up his chopsticks and began eating again.

He put his bento down with another short laugh, and then held a cheesy smile for awhile, before looking at the impassive look on his friends face and mellowing.

"She doesn't love you anymore."

Sasuke gave him a look that could be classified as a glare.

"Well, _she_ _doesn't_!" said Naruto with a frown. "Man, of all the times to finally fall for Sakura-chan, you pick _now_."

Sasuke gave the blonde a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

Naruto blinked. "You mean, you didn't know?" Sasuke's look didn't falter. "Sakura has a boyfriend."

"What?"

The Kyuubi-container nodded. "Yeah, his names Fukushima Tadashi, and they've been going out for about a year now."

The Uchiha's teeth gritted. His Sakura was going out with another man? That only made matters worse than they were.

"It'll be like an all out war for her…"

Sasuke scoffed. "Barely even…" he mumbled, taking a bite of the onigiri. Sakura _would_ be his…and there were no "ands", "ifs", or "buts".

Naruto almost choked on his food. "Woah, woah! You almost make it sound like it's gonna be _easy_. And there's no easy button for Sakura-chan…"

There was a long pause before a smirk traced its way onto Sasuke's face. "That is the smartest thing that I've ever heard coming from your mouth, Naruto…"

The blonde grinned cheekily at him before realizing what he meant by that. "HEY—"

"Here you guys are…" They both turned to see the one they were both talking of. "I just talked to Ibiki, Naruto. Your behavior is still that of a child's!" she scolded as she combed her hand through his hair.

He chuckled and then put on that goofy grin. "Sorry, Sakura-chan…" he apologized with a playful pout.

"Let's go, Sasuke," ordered Sakura quickly. "We'll see you later, Naruto!"

The son of the Fourth waved at them. "Bye, Sakura-chan! Bye, teme!"

She turned and began to walk away, but Sasuke did not miss the dried-up tears that covered her cheeks.

--

As they neared the part of the village Sakura lived in, Sakura spoke. "We are going out this evening," stated the medic, not even looking at the Uchiha.

"So soon?" questioned the boy.

Sakura glared over at her mission, a seductive look plastered on his face. "Don't get your hopes up!" she spat, looking him up and down with distaste. "I am meeting my team at Benihana's."

"Team?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, my genin team," she answered.

"So, you like children?" He smirked, a million and one thoughts including Sakura running through his mind.

She sighed. "Yes, and if you make one more pass at me, I'll beat you to a pulp."

Sasuke only continued to follow the pinkette and closed his eyes slowly. _Naruto was right; there is no easy button with you Haruno Sakura…_His smirk only became more sinister as he watched the beautiful woman before him. _But I am one for a challenge…_

Step Forward: Sasuke now knew his competition; steps back: Sakura seemed to be utterly in love with this man, and did not show any signs of letting up.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow! Finally finished! It took me SO long to update this, but I really wanted to get it to you before Christmas! Um, if you guys didn't like it or you thought Sasuke talked a little too much, again I'm sorry, and it's hard for me to write him! Anyways, review! Luv u and laterz!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

--SAYURI--


	6. Enemies

**A/N**: Er…long time guys…I'm really sorry about that, but I'm lazy and busy. Not only that I'm easily distracted and, I'm really, REALLY sorry, and I hope you will take this chapter as a way to say that! I hope it's long and good enough for your liking XD

* * *

Chapter 5: Enemies

The first thing Sasuke noticed once they returned to Sakura's house did not evoke mutual contentedness between the two. Rather, it evoked the opposite. While Sakura was shining with a joyful light he had not seen in the pinkette since he had returned home, he, himself, was seething with anger.

As they returned to the quaint little apartment, Sakura had bent down with a gasp before her door. Sasuke had tried his best to look around the crouching girl to see what the hold-up was. Could she have gotten a package or note? Big deal—she could take it inside and deal with it, instead of waste _his_ time.

Just as he was about to tap her on the shoulder, or kick open the door or something irrational like that, he heard the kunoichi giggle before standing up with what seemed to be a large bouquet of flowers. The way she held the bundle reminded him of the way a mother would hold her newborn child, and the look on her face erased all evidence of sadness or tears. She was smiling dreamily; that was enough to make his teeth clench in realization that it was someone else that was making her feel that way.

And it could be a number of people. It was after Sasuke learned of Sakura's boyfriend that he started noticing the looks of longing, looks of adulation and yearning for Sakura throughout the village. Sakura was practically worshiped by most of the male population of Konoha, dumped by her previously or not.

But recently, Sasuke had figured out the one person that could make his blossom smile so damn much, and so beautifully at that. The Uchiha scowled.

The pinkette unlocked the door, and walked into the apartment not tearing her eyes away from the note attached to the bouquet. And as the ex-leaf-nin made his way towards the guestroom to freshen up a bit, his fist clenched as he watched the kunoichi lift the note to her lips and kiss it lightly before closing her eyes and whispering a name sweetly into it.

--

By the time Sasuke had finished getting ready, and brooding over something as small as flowers, Sakura had already seemed to be ready as well and in the kitchen. The pinkette was, to his surprise, humming a tune as she positioned the flowers into a glass vase. He scoffed as he saw her play with them more than necessary. His eyes narrowed. The stupid flowers were in the damn vase already; there was nothing she could do to make them look any different that they were looking right then and there.

The Uchiha exhaled slowly, cooling himself off a bit, before putting his calm demeanor back in play. "Those are from your boyfriend, Fukushima…" For the first time in the Uchiha's whole life, he mentally slapped himself in the face. He could not _believe _that that dumbass, unnecessary statement came from _his_ mouth.

Sakura turned around to look at him, her humming ceasing abruptly. Her eyes held confusion, but he could still see the happiness dance through her eyes. She was wearing a form-fitting red dress that was mid-thigh length. It was slightly low-cut, and short-sleeved with the Haruno sigma on the back. Sakura didn't sport her head-protector or tall, black sandals, but instead a black headband and flip-flops. Her hair was down, and falling thickly over her shoulders and down her back. No wonder all the men stared, she had definitely filled out over the years, and had a gorgeous face to match.

The pinkette paused, not knowing whether to say yes, or just stand there, but that thought was pushed to the back of her mind once she remembered that Sasuke had not been in Konoha long enough to know of Tadashi. "How…who told you about him?"

"Naruto," answered Sasuke curtly.

"Of course…" scoffed Sakura with a small pout as she turned back to the counter to bother with the flowers again. "Why can't that Naruto just keep his big mouth shut…?"

Sasuke chuckled to himself quietly, and he noticed the pinkette tense, her digits slowing down in their work. "What's so funny?" she questioned softly, but Sasuke could hear the icy tone in her voice.

He smirked, stalking towards the kunoichi with a sinister aura surrounding him. "You should give up on him." His voice made shivers run down her back as he neared her. "I _will _take you as mine, Sakura, and besides…" Sasuke was so close to her by now, she could feel his hot breath on her neck, but she couldn't move. His breath was like a drug that blocked her movements, apart from how she closed her eyes, and gripped her fingers around the countertop edge, fingers turning snow white from the pressure of her hold. "**_I'm the only man you've ever known…_**"

Something within her snapped and her eyes popped open as she swung around without warning, arm outstretched. Apparently, it wasn't rapidly enough, for she found her fisted hand in the grasp of the Uchiha.

Sakura's arm was shaking in wasted anxiety, and her eyes were glazed over in a fiery heat that he had not seen before. Had he missed out on the way her eyes seemed to change to a different color green every time her emotion changed as a twelve year old? Sasuke could only smirk at this.

Sakura's eyes only narrowed, a throaty growl rumbling through plump lips as he pulled her closer to him. She dug her heels into the linoleum floor in defiance. "Tadashi is more of a man than you could _ever _be, you bastard!" spat the pinkette, and he could almost see a blue chakra encircle her body dangerously.

He clicked his tongue. "Sakura, you would've been in so much trouble had I been hit…" he said, ignoring her previous statement.

She shot him a wry look. "That's unfortunate," she drawled. "Next time I'll be sure not to miss!"

In a matter of seconds, Sasuke had pinned Sakura against the nearest wall, and his sharingan had been officially activated. The young kunoichi muffled a soft cry as her back crashed into the wall, where she was sure there was a dent now, and her ferocious eyes looked into dark crimson.

Sakura growled yet again, and he answered to it with a cynical glare. She struggled against his weight, but to no avail; he was physically stronger than her and about a head and a half bigger than her.

There was nothing to be done, though. Her orders were to put action and force forth if he were a hazard to the citizens of Konoha, and right now, he wasn't.

The Uchiha grabbed her other arm with ease and placed them both above her head. Letting out a sardonic chuckle at how the girl turned her face to the side obstinately, he lowered his face until his lips grazed her ear. "Do not threaten me, Sakurako," he whispered, leaving a butterfly kiss below her earlobe. Sakura scoffed, teeth gritted a she leaned as far away from his touch. Everywhere his fingers touched, her skin felt like fire. And it was _unerving_, almost to a point where she feared even his eyes on her. "We wouldn't want to get _hurt_…" He placed another one on her collarbone, before deeply breathing in her scent.

…

…

…

"When are you planning to let go of me, you rapist?"

Her resistance was futile. He grinned cynically into her neck. "When you calm down."

The threat seemed to come right back into her voice. "Do not treat me as if I am your child. You will let go of me this instant!" she demanded as he felt her strength come back.

Sasuke backed away from the woman, and she fell two inches, not realizing she had been off the ground.

"Sakura, you're truly foolish if you don't understand that you will be mine," insisted Sasuke as she walked towards the door. "Our future is inevitable."

The apprentice to the Hokage straightened her dress out, fussing with her hair as well, but her face was hard as stone. "_Our future?_" She looked him straight on. "'Our future' is preventable, Sasuke." The girl knew that he knew how things would probably end up, but she would not go down without a fight, and she still had a say in the matter.

Sasuke chuckled as she opened the door. "Is it?" The surprise on her face lasted for only a second, but as she walked out the door, Sasuke knew that he had put doubt in the girl's logic.

--

As soon as Sasuke laid eyes on Sakura's genin team, he knew they were different than Naruto's. For one, they all sat quietly on one side of the table without killing each other. Secondly, when he came upon them he noticed they were making sophisticated small talk, and lastly, Sakura did not give them a flashy smile, or warning frown like she did Naruto's team, but instead a more subtle grin, a small wave, and a wink.

"Hey, guys."

The twelve year olds glanced up to see their sensei and smiled as she took a seat on the other end of the table with the Uchiha next to her.

"Hello, Sakura-sensei!" greeted the girl of the group. The young boy to the left of her was smirking playfully, his arm over the back of the girl's seat, and the boy to her right seemed to turn red as soon as his eyes laid on Sakura. "How are you doing?"

The pinkette settled into the seat. "Fine, fine…" she replied. "And you all?"

"Fine, as well," answered the girl.

"Great," drawled the boy to her left.

"Fine," whispered the blushing boy.

"Good." Sakura smiled, and then paused. "Oh—where are my _manners_? This," she gestured to the emotionless Uchiha next to her, "is my mission: Uchiha Sasuke. He's an asshole," sighed the medical jonin as she rested her arm on the table and leaned against it.

Sasuke sent her a deadly glare.

"Sasuke," She eyed the angry boy next to her. "These are my students: Masami, Hiroki, and Yasashi." She had named them in the order of which they had spoken before.

"Uchiha-san," acknowledged Masami with a nod.

"Sir," greeted Yasashi, closing his eyes.

"Asshole," said Hiroki, who pointed at him with an arm that had nonchalantly snaked around the younger kunoichi's shoulder.

Sasuke's glare only intensified, Sakura stifled a giggle into delicate fingers, Masami rose a delicate eyebrow at the boy's words, and Yasashi's eyes wouldn't stray from Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san. Hiroki is only kidding," explained the girl calmly, as she gave the onyx-haired boy a reassuring look.

Sakura ceased her laughing as she looked at the Uchiha's face, and he was not amused. She shifted a little, purposefully bumping her shoulder into his so he could look into her dark, forest-green eyes that warned him not to do anything in public if he cherished his time here in Konoha.

Sasuke grunted slightly, before scowling back at the children. Now that he had the chance to look at them, he saw that Sakura actually had a rather handsome group of children, especially the young girl. The smart-mouthed boy (that was now on his bad-list) had spiky, platinum-blonde hair, even bigger than Naruto's, and surprising violet eyes that held a sly, yet calm look. There was a mischievous smirk on his pale face, but his jaw already had the strong build to it of a man. By the looks of it, this boy was a Konoe, a prestigious clan that was known more for its nobility, if anything. It only allowed its most promising into the academy, and it was said that only those with perfect chakra control, and the future of a medic would qualify.

The next boy was obviously a Hyuga; his pearl eyes and long, black hair tied into a braid gave that away. There was no scarf, or bandages covering his forehead, and his hitae-ate was around his arm—from the Main House, obviously. But the boy was so different from the most of the others of his clan with his cheeks tinted in pink, and his showing admiration whenever his eyes landed on his sensei. So he had a little crush on Sakura? Sasuke scoffed inwardly. Join the club.

And last, but not certainly not least was the girl, and the best way to describe her was—simply—_gorgeous_ with her long, red-brown tresses, caramel skin, and almond-shaped emerald green eyes. A small uplift of her plumped lips added to the precarious look in her eyes made her look twice her age, and the fact that she had the body of someone twice her age as well didn't help either. He couldn't remember the name, but he knew that she came from the Head Family of a small clan that specialized in the mastery of weaponry. But why did she seem so familiar…?

Despite the sarcastic Konoe, the embarrassed and awestruck acts of the Hyuga, and the blinding beauty of the girl, Sasuke found himself liking Sakura's team much more than Naruto's because his team was a representation of the innocence that could never be Team 7 again.

Sasuke's head turned back to the girl again. But why did he feel like he had seen her, heard of her…

Something finally clicked, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Fukushima…" Everyone turned to the Uchiha, for it was the first word he had said the whole time, and his blatant, impassive words cut through any conversation. "Your twin brother's on Naruto's squad and your older brother is…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"My boyfriend…" deadpanned Sakura, her eyes holding certain aloofness, and her chin resting on interlaced fingers. Sasuke's teeth gritted.

Masami's cold, insidious eyes trailed between her sensei's and the "mission" right next to her. She saw how the two stared at each other and could feel Yasashi's worried gaze and Hiroki's careful gaze on her. They wanted her to break the tense silence. Soon the red-brown-haired girl's insidious eyes were on Sasuke's, and her lips thinned. He could see the bitter and cross looks roam through her gaze as she realized what he was up to, and he smirked. It had been silently settled between the two that they were now sworn enemies.

Suddenly, the Fukushima's face glowed, as she erupted into a bright smile. "Yes, Uchiha-san, sensei has been dating nii-san for a little over a year now. Isn't that _great_?!" Her eyes opened and the heated glare had been completely replaced with a giddiness more suited for a girl her age. Sasuke sneered. She was good.

The younger kunoichi leaned into Hiroki's hold. "Anyways, sensei, we've already ordered, but you or Uchiha-san is welcome to have mine. I'll just nibble a little from Hiroki-kun's!"

"Yeah, I don't mind," shrugged Hiroki smoothly. It was obvious the girl (who he now figured wasn't all that perfect) spoke for most of the team, especially the Hyuuga who had done nothing but greet Sakura and then proceed to stare at her.

Sakura smiled. "Why, how generous." She nudged the Uchiha, her facial appearance changing to a devilish smirk upon looking at him. "You hear that, Sasuke; the children offered you their food."

"Hn."

The genin looked confused and the cherryblossom huffed out a chuckle.

"Translantion?" hinted the blonde.

"He says, 'does the dish come with tomatoes'?"

--

Before they had finished their meal, Sakura did not hesitate to tell the genin practice started up again in two days, which actually excited the children. And as they got up to leave, Sasuke had been caught by the Fukushima who took longer, fuller strides to keep up with him. Her sly, emerald eyes stayed on the ground in front of her and her arms were crossed over her full chest. "Listen, Uchiha, sensei really likes nii-san, and he returns the feelings greatly. I won't let you break their bonds, or hurt the both of them in any way," she stated sternly.

Sasuke closed his eyes coolly. "Unfortunately, breaking bonds is my forte. Frankly, your brother doesn't stand a chance against me. I _will _have Sakura as mine."

Her artful gaze returned and she smirked. "You seem like one that would have many rivals and enemies, Uchiha-san," chuckled the young kunoichi.

He smirked as well. "Another one of my specialties."

"Well, then it would be best to add another to your list," she insisted and then she left with her group. As Sasuke glared at the back of her retreating body, he knew not to judge her by her size and age. She was young, but she had many resources and was wise beyond her years. More than that, she had been around Konoha longer than he had lately leaving him to think that she knew what was up a little bit more than he did.

Sasuke caught up with Sakura, who was waving to her genin team as they departed. "Your team seems far less ill-behaved than Naruto's…"

Sakura took it as a compliment. "Naturally…"

He glowered slightly. "Apart from Fukushima Masami."

"What are you talking about?" questioned the turquoise-eyed girl feigning surprise. She placed a tricky smirk on her face that told him she knew exactly what he was talking of. "Masami's a perfect angel…"

Sasuke rose an eyebrow, for that was the only look he could give the girl that could explain how crazy he thought she was. "Hn," he grunted. "That's also what they said about you."

--

Sasuke had been in Konoha and under Sakura's "rule" for about two weeks now. Though the girl was still cold towards him, she did her best to not make evil, sarcastic little comments and retorts whenever she talked to him, and that was one step forward for him. Once in a while, they would actually speak to one another, but those times were sparse, and only when it was truly necessary. Sakura had changed into an angry, calm, and quiet girl over the past few years, and that he knew, was no fluke. She acted different in her everyday life, barely smiling, barely laughing, _never_ calling him 'Sasuke-kun'.

That's not what he had expected.

That's not what he had come back for.

He knew some pieces of the girl would be broken. What he did not know was that he had to find them and solely put them back together.

Apart from figuring out if his plan to be with Sakura was sound, his new life here in Konoha was very uneventful. Besides being sent to interrogation and watching Sakura's students train, he did nothing. The only training he was ever trusted to do was chakra-control, and Sakura had reminded him again and again to not use his Sharingan. He couldn't go anywhere; couldn't do _anything _without Sakura watching him, an ANBU sniffing up his ass, and people staring at him. It was _enraging_. How could she not trust him? He barely had all of his chakra and power back.

Sakura, on the other hand, was the complete opposite, with too many new jobs to count. Each day, she was with the Uchiha and though he wasn't as much of a hassle as, say, a six year old child, she still felt like a mother constantly driving her kid around to a bunch of extra-curricular activities.

Some days, Sasuke had interrogation; and some days she had to check on his wounds to see if he was doing alright (since she cared _so much_). But, that was not really the problem, for it was only the tip of the iceberg. Around Sasuke's busy schedule, she had to fill in her own. She had ungodly shifts at the hospital that had only been lessened slightly by the fact that she had a genin team to take care of now, and Ino didn't. Aside from her usual jobs, she had a new one that tired her out more than any other, and that was the research of the Sharingan to find an antidote.

Though Sakura was a very accomplished medic-nin and had gone under her shishou's advice to study many of the clans' unique abilities, deadly weaknesses, and how to fix them, the Uchiha clan was a different story. But like their people, information on the Uchiha clan was sparse, and hard to get your hands on. Sakura had never in her years thought that she would have to know so much about the rare kekkei genkai, but here she was now.

Who knew how long it would take to search for a cure, how much work it would be. If she knew one thing about the Uchiha, it was that everything was so secretive and in the dark about them, who knew what she could find? That part of her mission was definitely a mystery, and she hated her shishou for giving it to her.

Today was, fortunately, not one of her researching days, and instead, the Uchiha was to sit quietly and watch as she trained her team. Sasuke was so surprised when he first saw them train; they were so _advanced _compared to the genin of his age. He began to actually believe that the new generation was always to surpass the old.

Sasuke shook his head from under the tree that was shading him from the merciless rays of the sun. It had to be one of the hottest days of the year, though it was barely spring. Konoha weather could be so unpredictable. It was apparent in Sakura's wardrobe as well. Usually, the pinkette was so refined, but today all she wore was a red sports bra, and short black shorts. Her hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head, her forehead gleamed in sweat, and her whole body was slightly flushed pink from the heat. He smirked. Gorgeous, as always…

"Alright," called Sakura as she walked out towards her team. "I want to see it again. This time, I'm your target. Do not think twice; attack because I will do so as well. Understood?"

The three nodded. "Hai!"

Sakura ran into the middle of the clearing and slammed her fist into the ground making a huge fissure that even Sasuke could feel from the edge of the training field. The genin immediately jumped into the air, avoiding the huge cloud of dust below them.

The Hyuga activated his Byakugan before landing on a tree over to the side. "Masumi, make a perimeter! Hiroki, start building up your chakra for your wind attack, and wait for further orders!"

"Right!" the two shouted.

The Fukushima looked to a red phoenix on her shoulder and nodded. "Let's go, Houki!" she ordered.

"Yes, of course," agreed the bird before growing into a beautiful, large creature with fiery red, orange, and yellow wings. Allowing the girl to hop on its back, it quickly began to guide across the grass, flames protruding from the ground its wings touched. Masami guided the bird left to dodge a few paper bombs attached to some kunai and the phoenix twirled brilliantly through the air before blowing a fireball at the Haruno. Sakura flipped backward, easily moving out of the way of the flames.

She knew it was pointless trying to stop the bird and Masami. They had been together since around birth and worked almost as well together as Kiba and Akamaru.

In no time at all, she was encircled by the fire and she stepped in a little so it wouldn't lick at her skin.

"Now, Hiroki!" ordered Yasashi sternly.

The platinum blonde smirked before doing a few handsigns as wind came from his mouth. The wind was harsh as Sakura sent chakra to her feet to keep still and a little to her hands as she sliced through the sharp strips of air. He had obviously been working on his jutsu.

The wind finally stopped coming from his mouth and formed a barrier around the fire. They were smart; they knew wind, or oxygen, made flames thrive and grow. Hiroki then went outside of the barrier, placing his chakra filled hands on them. "Alright, it's done, Yasashi."

By then, smoke began to fill the bubble and Sakura squinted her eyes. It was getting eerily quiet and the smoke only got thicker.

Sakura wiped her brow from sweat, sighed, and then closed her eyes letting a chakra filled hand slide behind her. A small wrist slipped through her hand, and she grabbed it harshly before sending the small body into the ground making the ground break beneath the boy. A grunt escaped Yasashi's lips as shards of rock cut into his skin.

"Stand up, Yasashi," spoke Sakura emotionlessly, a huge rush of chakra leaving her body, and instantly, smoke around their perimeter disappeared.

Yasashi gasped before wiping blood from his face and sending chakra to his feet, vanishing into the smoke.

Sakura smirked. "C'mon, Yasashi! Give it all you got!"

Outside of the wind structure, Masami hovered on her phoenix. She looked down at the young blonde's determined face as he held up the large edifice and gave him a worried look. Noticing eyes on him, Hiroki gazed up at the green-eyed girl and smiled reassuringly.

She grinned to humor him. "You alright?" she inquired, and he nodded. "Hang in there a little longer, Hiroki."

"Hey, don't worry about me. What's going on in there?"

Masami's eyes squinted intelligently at the bubble. "Sensei's clearing the smoke with her chakra. Yasashi's hurt—not too bad that he can't fight, but he's bleeding from numerous places on his body. He hasn't gotten one hit in yet…" recited the Fukushima.

"She knows that Yasashi already has an upper hand in the fight with his Byakugan. By clearing the smoke, she knows you'll only be able to depend on that one fact and not the loss of her own sight as well." That was the first thing the Uchiha had, again, said the whole time they had been together.

There was silence as the two genin looked at Sasuke, and then each other. Hiroki scoffed and glared. "Man, just as expected of sensei, though. If it gets too bad, I'll make a hole for you to go and help him."

Masami's eyes thinned at the Uchiha suspiciously. _Just as expected of Uchiha as well. He knows his battle tactics…_"…Right..."

Yasashi barely dodged one of Sakura's fists, and then jabbed forward with his own arm, using the speed and agility of his Gentle Fist to throw the pinkette off guard, but to no avail. He drew back a little, evading a kick that shook the ground, and then was thrown off balance, as his sensei used her other foot to trip him into the wall. The wind wall cushioned his fall and then supported him until he was back on his feet.

The Haruno bit her lip. She reached out towards the wall to the side of her, grazing it before sharp edges jutted out, and she had to take a few quick steps back to avoid getting punctured. _Touch sensitive? _The pinkette smirked. _Yasashi's been working to perfect his jutsu…_

She wiped her forehead, which was dripping in sweat and then let out a gust of air, looking at her student. He was breathing hard, and his movement was getting sloppy. It was so damn _hot_! "Alright, I think that's enough torture...Let's take a break." She glanced up to the top of the huge wind tower. "You hear that, Masami?! Tell Hiroki he can have a break!"

In a matter of seconds, the building had faded, and Sakura saw Hiroki, Masami, and a smaller form of Houki on the girls shoulder walking over to a tree. Sakura walked over to Yasashi and patted him on the shoulder, looking into his eyes sincerely. "You did well, love, but go harder. Don't hold back." She smiled and beat a hand into her fist. "I'm entering you into the Chunin Exams in the next few months, and I want you all to kick ass, alright?" She walked towards the Uchiha and stood next to him, leaving a blushing Yasashi behind her, and he knew it wasn't only from the sun.

Her smile faded as she neared him. "I'm going to check your eyes tonight. I've done a little research, and I want to make sure I understand the arrangement of the sharingan."

He acted as if she wasn't even there, "Hn," then watched the children under another tree a ten or fifteen meters away from where they were. Hiroki was lying back against the lush grass beneath him, fingers interlaced with Masami's who was talking to Yasashi and handing him a water bottle. Sasuke had recently learned that Hiroki and Masami were betrothed by their clan's at birth, and were actually content about it. Most betrothed couples acted like the betrothal was non-existent until they were married, but these two were happy to flaunt it, and were actually interested in one another. They were to be married when they were both 15.

Suddenly, an ANBU entered the clearing, and they all looked to see the person who was here. Sakura's attention left Sasuke completely and she gasped, a smile gracing her features and making her face brighten gorgeously. Sasuke glared; unhappy that he wasn't the one she was smiling at, but then understood the reason.

…

…

…

"Tadashi!"

Step forward: Sasuke had met his two main enemies; steps back: he didn't know how well-equipped they were and Sakura wasn't watching HIM, dammit!!!

* * *

**A/N**: Woah! FINALLY this is finish! Such a long chapter, and to think that it would have been longer had I not made it a cliffy (a bad one, but one nonetheless); practically 5,000 words, actually! Well, I'm sorry I haven't updated in the longest, but my spring break is 2 weeks long, so hopefully I'll get out more! I still have another week left! YAY!!! Well, I hope you liked it!!!

Also, in the chapter "History Repeats Itself" there was a typo that said something about Sasuke running away 12 years ago! I want you all to know that I meant 10 and that I think of him running away at the age of 12, so they would all be 22! Except Sakura will be 21 for now! Alrighty then, now that that's cleared up!

Review, plz! Luv ya and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	7. Jealousy Part I

**A/N**: Hey, children! Hope everyone had a nice week, along with a happy APRIL FOOLS DAY! I really don't enjoy that holiday too much; I'm so gullible! Thanks for your reviews! I've got another long one coming your way! ENJOY!!!

Everyone go see _I Love You, Man! _It's hillarious!

* * *

Chapter 6: Jealousy Part I

Sakura gazed at the brown-red-haired, green-eyed beauty before her, and he smiled brightly back. "Sakura, hey!" he greeted. She walked over to him, kissing him square on the lips before hugging him. "How are you?"

Sasuke steamed inside, gritting his teeth together so he wouldn't speak. He didn't like anyone touching, _hugging—KISSING—_his Sakura. No one. He noticed the younger Fukushima looking at him boastingly, and he put on a façade of aloofness, eyes flickering away from the girl quickly.

The kunoichi's smile only grew and the two love birds let go of each other. "I'm fine." Her eyebrows knitted together. "But what are you doing here?" she asked with a laugh.

Sasuke observed him. He was tall, a little taller than his own 6 foot 1 inch stature, with dark tan skin, strong but modest-sized muscles (not bigger than Sasuke's, of course), red-brown hair that was short and shaggy (not quite as silky as Sasuke's), and bright, forest green eyes (not NEARLY as clear as Sasuke's).

His smile wasn't a fake one like his sister's and his eyes didn't hold that same menacing stare that hers did. He assumed his family just had good looks like the Uchiha's—not exactly on the same level as his clan, but pretty damn close… Damn, he was better than he thought he would be.

Tadashi unbuckled something from his back and then brought it forth, gingerly tossing it from hand to hand. It was a bow and a bag of arrows. _Masami's_ bow and bag of arrows. _That bitch…_

"Well, I was on my way out, when I saw some brat's bow and arrows at the door." His eyes traveled to Masami. "Could it be yours?"

Sakura, too, looked at the girl inquisitively. "That's funny; Masami never forgets her weapons." For someone so smart, Sasuke found Sakura looking like an idiot right now. It was obvious this was all part of that girl's plan to keep Sakura and Tadashi together: show Sasuke how much they liked each other first hand by getting them together right in front of his face. Sasuke glared at the girl. Well, it wouldn't work, whatever that damn Fukushima was doing, Sasuke could do it better. "You're lucky that Tada is such a nice brother and brought it to you."

The brown-red-headed girl smirked curtly at Sasuke, before tricking the rest of them with her 'I'm a PERFECT angel' face. "Thank-you, nii-san! I've just been getting so _forgetful_ when I wake up early!" Amazing. She could give the worst act in the world, and they would still believe her…. "But are you sure the reason you came isn't what's standing right in front of you?" she insinuated slyly.

There was silence as Sakura and Tadashi both looked at each other, smiles gracing their features before the ANBU reached out and discreetly grabbed Sakura's hand, interlacing his fingers in hers. "You could say that…" he said, gazing at her dreamily.

God, they made Sasuke _sick_.

It was after a few seconds of the two nuzzling, and sly smirks from Masami that Sakura finally felt anger coming off of the Uchiha in waves. She shook herself out of her "cloud 9" daze and cleared her throat. "I want you to meet somebody," she requested to Tadashi, not at all letting go of his hand. Her eyes wandered over to the coal black eyes of the Uchiha. "Sasuke, could you please come over here."

He scoffed and stared at her. She must've been crazy. To stand there and kiss and hug and cuddle with someone—completely ignoring him, mind you—for what seemed like _hours_ to him, and then have the _audacity_ to summon him to her…had she gone mad? Who the hell did she think she was?

Who the hell did she think _he_ was?

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed and her lips thinned; something he noticed she did when she was nervous. Her big, green eyes beckoned him. "_Please…_" she mouthed.

He sighed, closing his eyes and reluctantly getting up to go and stand by her. She smiled. And he smirked inside knowing that he made her smile. "This is Uchiha Sasuke." She looked at Tadashi knowingly, as if they were hiding something only those to knew about. "He's my mission."

A flicker of skepticism ran through the Fukushima's eyes. "Oh…" he murmured, but then he grinned a true grin leaving Sasuke to wonder if he was trying his best to be a good person, or was just like his sister and hiding his true reasons behind a mask. He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Sasuke-san! I'm Tadashi, Sakura's boyfriend."

Sasuke glanced down at his hand, his ever detached face ever-present and then looked back into his face, smirking. "Pleasure's all yours," he said firmly. A small frown traced Tadashi's face, and the Haruno's watch held warning. "Sakura, my leg still hurts. Let's go home," he complained, thinking up an excuse to get as far away from this man as soon as possible.

The pinkette scowled at him. "Then go sit down. Have some patience, Sasuke, we'll get ready to leave soon. I don't think you understand how rude you're being."

"I don't think you understand how much I don't care."

She scoffed. "And you're asking me to heal your leg…"

"I'm not asking you, Sakura. I'm _commanding _you." He was getting angrier than he had wanted to, but she was so upsetting. Didn't she understand that he didn't want her having anything to do with this Tadashi character? Didn't she understand that she was _his_?!

"And I'm _commanding _you to give me a few minutes!" There was fire in her eyes as she said that, but that didn't change the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was _never _to be bossed around.

"I don't get _commanded_, Sakurako," he stated, voicing his opinion.

She took a step closer to him, cheeks flushed not only from the heat, but from her pure fury. "Don't you dare—"

"Hey, hey, calm down." They both sent their glares toward the tall Fukushima next to them. "Please forgive me. By coming around, I've made you two bicker. I'll just take my leave…"

Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Yeah, right. Don't flatter yourself, pretty boy…But then again…who was he calling a pretty boy?

Sakura seemed to be thinking the same thing. "No, no…" she sighed, closing her eyes. "Sasuke and I fight regardless of anything. Don't blame yourself." She smiled, once again forgetting that Sasuke was even there. "Where are you heading to?"

"I have a mission. I'm meeting up with my ANBU unit another town over," he explained.

The kunoichi's face dropped, and her eyes held confusion. "A mission today?" she questioned with a forced chuckle. "Our date is only in a couple days," whispered the girl so only the three of them could hear, but then sighed. "But, I understand. A mission is much more important than our date, we can change the day; it's alright…"

Sasuke's eyebrow rose slightly. Date? He had heard nothing of a date—and he had been around the kunoichi for most of his time here. Could it have been in the note attached to the flowers? That didn't make sense. Why would Tadashi set the date so far away from giving her the flowers? It had been a few weeks now. He would admit that they both probably had busy schedules.

Tadashi shook his head. "No, no...Sakura…" The ANBU grabbed the pinkette's small hands and squeezed them in his. "I promise you I'll be back by the time of our date. _You_ don't worry. Just show up and look beautiful." He placed his forehead against her. "I know that will be easy for you." He kissed her on the nose and then began to walk away. "I'll see you then."

Sakura smiled, turning as she watched him leave the bow and arrows with Masami, and rustle one hand in her hair with a 'see you, squirt'. "Be safe!" yelled Sakura after Tadashi's back. Tadashi merely waved over his shoulder giving her one more reassuring smile before disappearing in a flicker.

The pinkette turned to Sasuke. "Alright, asshole, we can go home n—" She paused, eyes wide as she noticed that the boy had already started towards her apartment. Shaking her head, she told her students to meet her in the same place an hour later the next day. When they asked her why an hour later, she explained to them that "the princess" was cranky in the mornings, and it took her a good 45 minutes to drag him out of bed and to his sessions at the interrogation base. Hiroki cracked a joke on Sasuke being a whack job and needing his "therapy sessions". The three genin giggled about the joke as their sensei merely rolled her eyes. It might've been funny to them, but they didn't have to wake him up in the mornings.

--

Once they finally got home Sakura was able to comfort his leg with ease. Healing it would still take time—the tissue had been almost completely ruined—and fixing it in one go could be stressful for the muscles in the leg themselves. Once she did that, and let him pop a few pain-killers, the kunoichi got out a few pieces of paper that looked to have a lot of notes on them. Sakura told him to lie back down on the couch (where she had so kindly lessened the pain in his leg for him) and he did so without a problem.

The pinkette sat on the side of him. "Alright…" she mumbled as she looked from her notes to his eyes. "Will it hurt you to activate your sharingan?"

Well, that was a stupid question. Of course it would and she knew it would. But being Uchiha Sasuke, he would still activate it because he could not ever allow himself to show a weakness. He smirked, though, trying to turn this to his favor. "Why does it matter—not like to see me get hurt?" he questioned smoothly.

Sakura's eyes didn't leave her notes. He saw her pretty face contort into a frown. "No," she put simply. "I could care less…it's just that your wincing, groaning, and screaming might slow the process." She had said that with such conviction. God—what—did she have, like, some _flirting_ _spyware_ against him?

"Hn…" he grumbled as he activated his sharingan. Instantly, his eyes felt like they were on fire, but he did not show her the pain he was in.

She gave a wary look. "Don't you dare put me under any genjutsu, Sasuke—"

"I can barely activate this thing, and you expect me to perform something as strenuous as that?" Sakura's eyes furrowed; he had a point. "You can trust me, Sakura."

There was silence as she began to inspect his eyes. "No, I can't," she whispered coldly. "But, I'll have to try for this, ne?" Her hand reached out to his cheek and she bit her lip, a determined look on her face. She was far into her work right now and Sasuke did not think of deterring her from her project. He just stared at her. Even as his eyes cried bloody murder, he couldn't look away. She was so gorgeous, so _perfect_ until she went and ruined it by opening her mouth. He almost smirked at the thought. Almost.

She looked back to her notes carefully. "Ok…" she started. "I understand that your powers are expressed by the number of tomoe you have. The first tomoe shows the ability to memorize and replicate your enemies' movements; the second shows the ability to clarify your perception of things so that you are able to predict and counter the movements of fast-moving objects or people; the last one shows the ability of hypnosis. You are able to suggest the thoughts and actions of your enemy. Stop me if I'm wrong."

The Uchiha did nothing, only raised an eyebrow as to where the kunoichi was going with this.

"But beyond such abilities that most of every Uchiha had…" She looked at him skeptically. "There is another one, isn't there? The Mangekyo…you are a proud owner of it, am I right?" He nodded. "The legend has it that you have to kill one of your closest friends to come by it, how did you obtain yours?"

He didn't need two sets of interrogators. "That legend is false. When Itachi died, I gained it," he answered swiftly. She looked confused, but seemed to let it slide. This wasn't her job anyway.

Sasuke noticed the girl going back into doctor mode. "You didn't have any problems with your eyes before the Mangekyo. It was said that your brother had problems too and Kakashi experiences a massive drain of power after using it. So, if you never use the Mangekyo, you'll be fine." He looked at her like he was crazy. She couldn't just _tell _him to not use his blood-line trait. "The logic of this confuses me," she explained, shutting her eyes tightly and massaging the brim of he nose (he knew she was exhausted). "But, I'm going to allow you to start using your sharingan again. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid until I'm completely finished with my research."

"Hn."

She sighed, putting her papers back into a folder and standing up. "Alright, I think I'm done for today." Sasuke deactivated his sharingan, closing his eyes tightly. God, it hurt. What was wrong with the damn thing? Suddenly, he felt coolness over his eyes and the pain faded away. It soothed him, made him want to fall asleep. His breath hitched before his breathing slowed and his face seemed more relaxed. When the feeling faded he began to miss it and he opened his eyes to see Sakura still above him.

Noticing his perplexed face, Sakura elucidated why she had done what she did as she walked to her room. Sakura showing kindness? Towards _him_? Unbelievable! "Part of my mission is to act as your medic and whether I like it or not, that means relieving your pain as well."

He smirked. "You're not nearly as bad as Ino."

She closed the door behind herself, after giving him an amused face. "We'll see…"

--

The girl was a wreck. It had been a couple days since his last eye check up. It was now the day that her date with Tadashi was _supposed_ to be, and at first it didn't seem like it was happening. The normally calm and impassive girl was now worried and fretting. _What if he had been hurt and he was in the hospital? Cool it, Sakura, he's just running a little late. What if he forgot about the date? No, no…he planned it; he wouldn't just forget…Maybe he was mourning the loss of a few teammates and had lost track of time at their graves. No, there would have been a funeral and you definitely would have been right by his side to comfort him. Oh, God! What if he was dead?! NO!! Haruno Sakura! Calm the FUCK down, he is fine!_

The thoughts practically played on her face. No one could really tell because she barely talked and hid her anxiety well, but Sasuke could. After living with the girl for a couple months, he could almost see right through her little disguises. Almost. She just wasn't acting herself. That was until that afternoon when a bird (just like Masami and the rest of the Fukushima, Tadashi had his own bird as well) sent a message to Sakura saying the he was home, the date was still on, and he would be by to pick her up at around 7:30. Sakura was a bucket of joy, happier than he had seen her this whole time. Of course, it was reasonable that the Uchiha was angry as hell.

When she walked out of her room, Sasuke's eyes were glued to her. She was _stunning_. Usually she was gorgeous without even trying, but now that she actually was she looked amazing, like a goddess. She wore a purple Vera Wang dress that hugged her curves perfectly. It tapered, getting tight right above her knees and then a feather-light fabric went out and stopped below her knee. It was strapless with a silk, purple ribbon right under her breasts. Her hair was down and in corkscrew curls down her back, accented by a purple barrette. She wore strappy gold heels decorated with blue, pink and clear gems and a golden choker necklace with a sapphire pendant. Her make-up looked done, but natural. He had never seen someone look so _good_.

The doorbell rang and she ran to the door as quickly as she could in her heels. "I'll see you, Sasuke. I should be back by 11:00-12:00! Don't wait up!" And she was gone.

The Uchiha sat down on the couch. Damn, he had still been looking at that…He closed his eyes and put his hands into a chakra forming position. There was nothing else to do anyways. A half hour had passed and the boy still couldn't get that girl out of his mind. It was appropriate though, right? She was his…Sasuke's teeth gritted. He had to think of something else because he couldn't stand thinking of his cherryblossom with anyone but him. What did he expect after leaving her for years? For her to just wait for him and stay pure and alone?...yes_..._He didn't want to do anything irrational, but it was as if the girl wanted him to. Eleven to twelve? Don't wait up?Who the hell did she think she belonged to? That Tadashi kid? What the hell was she _thinking_? Was she even thinking at all?

He sighed. Somehow, he would have to stop this date if he wanted to get that girl out of his mind. He stood up and walked to the door. If an ANBU came to him and stopped him what would he do?

Opening the door, he surveyed the area before closing the door behind him and walking down the steps. No one had seen him thus far, so he stuffed his hands in his pockets, closed his eyes, and continued to walk.

Suddenly a flash of black was seen before an ANBU stood right in his way. His eyes narrowed. _Dammit!_

"Where do you think _you're _going? I'm sure you're to be on house arrest unless under the supervision of Haruno Sakura and I don't see her any where around." A woman by the sound of the voice and the look of a slim figure under the ANBU garments.

He just glared straight through her. He couldn't fight, that would be a violation of his sentence and that wouldn't do any good in trying to gain Konoha's trust.

"Nothing to say? As expected of you, Sasuke…" Why was she talking to him so familiarly? The woman took of her bear ANBU mask to reveal a recognizable face.

"Tenten?"

"At your service." She bowed playfully. "What are you doing out by yourself? You're not supposed to be out here without an escort. You know I have orders to physically enable you if I do see you out alone, right?" questioned the sporty brunette, her arms crossed over her chest. This had to be the first person that did not hold hostility towards the Uchiha. He didn't really have a close relationship with Tenten to begin with, though.

He smirked. "Tenten, how would you like to be my escort for tonight, then?"

--

Tenten had gladly accepted after an explanation and was too excited to even think. She was a girl and for some reason the girl's in Konoha loved sneaking around, poking, and intruding into their friends' love lives. It was like their second hobby; their first, of course, being a ninja.

At first, Sasuke felt stupid for leaving the house not even knowing what restaurant Sakura was going to. Tenten knew, of course, and she explained it to him like _he _was the crazy one for not knowing that "all the hot and wealthy couples were getting reservations and Tadashi wasn't scared to use a little cash". The place was huge, with a two story inside and a patio outside. They quickly spotted Tadashi and Sakura sitting at an outside table, and hid behind some bushes towards the lively streets.

If people hadn't been staring at him before for being Uchiha Sasuke, out and about, then they were definitely staring at him stealthily trying to bury himself in some hedges and were going to be staring at him _even more _once they saw him assault this man who was KISSING HIS SAKURA. He cursed himself for his stupidity and took a few breaths calming himself, and then looked next to him seeing that the kunoichi was anything but embarrassed by the situation. She seemed at home, as if she had done this many times before (which he did not doubt) and she looked really happy.

This surprised Sasuke. Whenever he had seen Tenten in the past, she seemed rather mellow and cool, much different from Sakura and Ino in the past, but not shy like Hinata. She was somewhere in the middle, something most of the men could deal with. But once again, Shikamaru was right. The chicks were _crazy _here. He began to think it was just the kunoichi, though, because as he looked around, all the other women seemed pretty normal.

"Look," whispered Tenten excitedly. "There they are!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked up to see them ballroom dancing with one another. Another barfing moment for Sasuke. "Yeah," he replied standing up with his fist balled and taking a step towards the two.

Tenten gasped and then grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the brush. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she whispered harshly. "You can't just _barge_ in there attempting to beat him up!"

"Whose side are you on?" inquired the boy who recalled just telling the girl why he was going after Sakura and her boyfriend in the first place.

"Sakura's!" she replied. "Whomever she chooses is her choice, but I'll tell you: smashing his face is not going to put you in her favor!"

Sasuke sighed, swallowing his ego for a second. "Then what should we do?" It felt awkward for him to say that. He usually never asked for advice, but this time he really needed it.

Her eyes were back on the couple before them. "Just wait. Don't intervene, just watch for tips on how to treat her. You'll definitely need them."

He scowled at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled slyly. "I've been around your type before, Sasuke. FYI, I'm married to one," she said holding up her hand and showing off a gold and diamond wedding band and engagement ring, respectively. "Your and Neji's attitudes aren't that different. You guys could really take some notes from a real sweet talker like Tadashi."

"Hn." Sasuke glanced up to see Tadashi steal a kiss from Sakura before snaking an arm around her waist and leading her back to the table. His insides boiled. "I'm done waiting!" he grumped, standing up once again.

"Sasuke!" growled Tenten, clutching on to his leg. He was so _strong_. "No!"

--

Sakura smiled brightly at Tadashi, as he sat down after pushing in the seat for her. She grabbed his hands massaging them in hers. "Tada, this place is beautiful. I can't explain how grateful I am. This is one of the best restaurants around…"

"Hey, you _deserve_ the best," he assured her sweetly. "I'm glad you like it, I had you in mind when picking this place." He picked up one of her hands and kissed it tenderly.

She giggled lightly before leaning in slowly and pecking him on the lips. But she wanted more of him, so much more. She deepened the kiss, moaning sensually as he nipped the bottom of her lip. They parted from each other before it got too heavy. He smiled, and boy did he smile. Her legs felt like jelly when he did. "Sakura…I've missed this."

She smiled sadly. "I've missed you…" Did she even deserve someone like him? Someone so kind and smart and strong and cute and _sexy _couldn't be all for her…impossible. She cleared her throat, changing the subject. This was a date; she was supposed to enjoy this. "So, how was your mission—any casualties?" Shinobi talk; that's better.

"It went great! We all made it home safely," he responded.

She nodded. "That's good." A thought quickly struck her. "Hey, do you think Izumo and Kotetsu are acting a bit strange?" she inquired thinking back to her last mission.

His eyebrows furrowed and he chuckled. "You mean more strange than they normally act? No, I don't think so…"

Sakura looked back into his green orbs and laughed as well. "Ok, well—" She suddenly heard rustling in the bushes and trees towards the end of the patio. Who could it be—a lost animal—some kids joking around? She squinted her eyes to get a better look and as she analyzed the bushes a little more, she realized that that was someone she knew.

She gasped, mouth ajar. _Sasuke?!_ She couldn't believe it! He was EVERYWHERE! _How did he…_She saw another person she knew practically wrestling the boy to the ground and glared. _Tenten, I'll KILL you! _She and the girl had become really good friends over the years and Tenten was almost like an older sister. Even though the brunette was only about a year older, she knew so much more about men, hence, her marriage to Neji. It was a case of ice-cube-man-turned-soft-by-love.

Was she trying to give Sasuke pointers? Ha! Sasuke wouldn't grasp the idea of tenderness, patience, and kindness if it smacked him in the ass!

Tadashi's reddish-brown eyebrow rose slightly. "What's wrong?" He began to turn around. "Did you see someone?"

Sakura panicked. "NO!" She quickly grabbed his face with both her hands and looked into his eyes. What was she suppose to do now? She let go of him only to see him give her an awkward look.

"Baby, it's just that I just realized that…we…um…" Her eyes searched around her and at the table for something to say. "…er…ran out of bread!" she shouted. "I love the bread here; it's great!"

He gave her a worried look. "Um, I'm pretty sure our main course is going to be out soon, babe," he answered cautiously. "Sakura, are you ok? You're acting kind of flustered."

Her eyes went wide. She had to get him out of here for a second. "Well, I'm just fine," she said laughing sheepishly. She just never was good at lying to the ones she loved. Enemies on a mission, easy as pie, but her boyfriend of over a year, rubix cube hard. "But, I _really_ would like some more of that bread."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Oh, yeah."

He raised his hand ushering over a waiter. "Well, if you insist…"

She grabbed his arm out the air. "No! Tada, we should ask our own waiter; he'll bring us the bread!"

"But he's no where around—"

"We shouldn't bother that one! He seems busy." She slapped herself in the face for that one. Said waiter was leaning against a wall making small talk with another not-so-busy waiter.

"He doesn't seem so busy—"

"Please?" pleaded the girl.

The Fukushima sighed and then chuckled. "Fine, but when I get back, we're going to talk about these issues you're having…" he said jokingly as he got up.

"Pinky promise!" she said as she watched him leave until he was out of sight. As soon as she did that, her head whipped back to the two little problems in the bushes, a full on scowl on her face. She rose from her seat, and stomped over to them loudly. Parting the bushes, she smiled politely at the people staring at her now, and then glared at the two most insane of them all. "What the hell are you two _doing_!?" she whispered, but they could tell she wanted to scream.

Tenten looked nervous but then glared at Sasuke with that 'I told you so…' face. He, in turn, did nothing.

"We were um…in the neighborhood and uh…"

"We came to take you home."

The brown-eyed brunette sighed, putting her face into her hands, and Sakura's face was unreadable. "You came to _take me home_, Sasuke?" She waited for a response, knowing that the usually quiet Uchiha would not say anything, and then looked around, letting out a huff that sounded something like a chuckle. The pinkette calmed herself down, lips thinning as she massaged her temples taking a deep breath. "Ok…Tenten, please take Sasuke home. I don't want to have to deal with this right now."

Tenten looked guilty. "Ok…" she sulked sadly and then glared at the boy. "We could've stayed and watched if you didn't get so worked up!" she murmured under her breath at Sasuke.

Sakura gasped. "Tenten!" screamed the cherryblossom before looking around. "Look, Tadashi will be back any second…"

"Ok, ok…" said Tenten. "I understand. I'll get him out of here, but I'm not going to take him home yet," reasoned the brunette, holding up a hand in defense against the angry Haruno.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "No, I'd much rather—"

"Shut-up!" shouted Tenten, slapping him on the arm.

Sakura's eyes widened. That was the first chick she had ever seen hit Sasuke and the Uchiha not do anything but glare. Were they friends now? She supposed Sasuke actually, almost, _kind of _saw Tenten as an older sister, as well. She usually gave off that vibe when she wasn't running around trying to spy on people…

Sakura glanced behind her to see Tadashi coming in the distance and shut her eyes. "Fine, whatever, just hurry and get out of here!" she said, shooing the two away and walking back to her seat. Tenten saluted the girl with a smile before dragging Sasuke away quickly.

They left just in time for Tadashi to notice Sakura coming back from the edge of the patio. He smiled, cocking his head to side and giving her an odd look. "Sakura, what were you just doing?"

She scratched the back of her head and sat down. "I saw someone that I knew…" There! It was telling the truth, wasn't it?

"Oh, I see!" Tadashi sat down as well. "Well, they said they'll bring some more bread along with the main course. They're sorry they caused so much trouble," he explained.

Sakura laughed. "Baby, how can you take me seriously when I'm arguing with you about bread?"

He chuckled as well. "Hey, hey! Don't act like I'm the crazy one in this situation!" She roared in laughter and then quieted, a few giggles making her body vibrate. He leaned forward leaving a chaste kiss on her lips. "You're so beautiful when you laugh," he complimented, leaning his forehead against hers.

She smiled, thanking him by returning the kiss. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

Little did they know Sasuke and Tenten were still listening by the side.

--

Sasuke stomped through the village, peeved by the sight of the two love birds. Though he didn't seem to be plodding about the streets to the villagers, they could still feel an unhealthy aura coming off of him and couldn't help but move far, far away.

"Sasuke, Sasuke!" called Tenten as she ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm and turned him around to look into his eyes. "Don't get mad, get even."

He stared at the girl, completely confused by her actions and words. "Whose side are you on again?"

She sighed. "Listen, the only way to go about this is to win her back."

He began walking away once again. "She's mine, why should I have to win her back?" he asked emotionlessly.

"Are you serious? She stopped being yours as soon as you stepped out of our village gates. You've never had to work to get women in your life, Sasuke, but welcome to reality. Sakura's just as stubborn as you are."

Sasuke knew Sakura would be hard to deal with as soon as he knew about her new stubborn, evil attitude, but maybe Tenten was right. Maybe he did need to put a little effort forth. Tenten was actually good people.

"Hn…" grunted the Uchiha. "Maybe we can look around a little."

The weapon's mistress smirked. "I knew you'd want to!"

--

Sakura walked into the door with a smile on her face and dropped her keys on the table only to see Sasuke practicing his chakra control on the couch. She rolled her eyes at the back of his head; she didn't even want to _think_ about him showing up at her date that night. What the hell was he thinking, anyway?

"You're late."

Sakura put a hand on her hip. "Excuse me?" She found herself saying that to him a lot lately. It was just the nerve of what he thought he could say to her most of the time.

"It's 3:00 in the morning, Sakura."

She vaguely remembered telling him she'd be back around midnight and sighed. He didn't have to act like a child about it, really… "So? We went back to Tadashi's for a few hours for coffee…"

Sasuke chuckled as if he had just thought over something and come to a conclusion. "That's just what you do now, isn't it?"

Sakura became defensive instantly. "What are you trying to say?" she inquired in a touchy tone.

"Sleeping around with every guy you think wants a good time…" He got up off the couch and walked towards her. Her eyes were glaring down at the counter and he almost thought he saw tears. "You've dated all these different people and left them like that. Why would Tadashi be any different? You don't love him, Sakura…" He came up behind her and she could feel his breath in her ear. "You just love him for his—"

Sakura roared, wiping her arm across the table and allowing everything including dishes and glasses to slam to the floor. The Haruno turned on him, the same fire in her eyes from before. "You think you know me, Sasuke, but you don't!" she growled. "So, don't you dare come in here telling me who I've slept with and who I do and don't love!"

She tried to push past him, but he caught her in his hold. "Leave him, Sakura. Leave him for me," he whispered impassively, eyes and face showing no emotion.

"I would _never_ sink that low!" she mumbled through gritted teeth as she pushed him away and stalked towards her room, shutting it forcibly.

Sasuke smirked. He didn't mean to get her that angry before tomorrow, but if that meant more of a challenge, he would take it. He wanted her bad, but he loved to fight for things. Did he even need to hope for more of a challenge when getting Sakura was a challenge in itself? Sure, she had been with many guys, but she still had self-respect and would never be with someone that treated her badly. He was actually trying regardless of what she thought, though, he really was…

He had been jealous all day of that Tadashi and tomorrow he would make sure that Sakura was the jealous one. _Thank-you for the idea, Tenten…_And with that, the young Uchiha went off to bed.

Step Forward: Sasuke had a plan to make Sakura understand how he had felt today; steps back: he still was mad about the kissing on the date, and now he had to deal with an angry Sakura.

* * *

**A/N: **Hello! Welcome to the end of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! See, the reason I made that kind of ending was because, I feel as though I've been making Sasuke talk to much, so to deal with that, I make him a total ass! Not the best idea, and the chapter probably wasn't the best either, but YOU'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT FOR NOW!! In your review (if I'm lucky to get any), just tell me what you think: if you like it this way, or you would rather him talk less, though in the end, it will probably be a nice mixture of the two, cause, hey, that's Sasuke!

ALSO! If you would like to see what the dress and shoes actually looks like (which I know you won't probably care), I could always send you a link to the pic!

Thanks for reading! Please take the time and review, luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	8. Jealousy Part II

**A/N: **Ello! Welcome to another chapter! Hopefully it's to your liking! ALSO! I would like to thank **Cueil** for being such a brilliant reviewer and giving me ideas for my story! Sometimes, he makes me feel a little stupid for not thinking of such things to make this story really imaginative but...I LOVE YOU, BABE!!! Everyone give **Cueil **a warm round of applause and a pat on the back for being such a sweetie!! Alright, on to the chapter!!!

Thx for the reviews! ENJOY!!!

* * *

Chapter 7: Jealousy Part II

Sakura was _exhausted_. She walked around all day looking like a zombie. Even waking Sasuke up in the morning had proven to be a longer and harder task than it used to be. The usually strong-minded pinkette had given up half-way through the wake-up-Sasuke task. Not only that, _he_ had to drag _her_ to his session. It was her fault, though, staying out late on work nights. Tsk-tsk.

Unfortunately, no sleep Sakura was very, _very _cranky and being around her was a pain. She didn't speak to him, she didn't _look_ at him, and she practically didn't even acknowledge his existence, only glaring his way every once in a blue moon. He thought it was better that way, though. The Haruno was still very angry about what he had said last night, and he didn't want to have to hurt her if she decided she wanted to try and hurt him. She was his and hurting her probably wasn't the right thing to do. Wait…Tenten had told him about that; maybe he should refrain from calling the girl "his"…well, at least for now.

It was around 11:00 now and Sakura was in the middle of getting ready for a nap in her room. She had taken Sasuke to interrogation and then went to the hospital for a few hours to be welcomed with more trouble than she ever thought there would be so early in the morning. Remind her to never underestimate Konoha Hospital, or any hospital for that matter. She was _worn out_.

But it was worth it. As she thought about her night with Tadashi, she couldn't help but swoon and smile. The dinner, the dancing, the kisses, the coffee, the cuddling afterwards…everything was _perfect_. Her smile faded. Until she got home, of course. Sasuke was such a _bastard_. I mean, she had known that for a long time now, but really…How could he say something like that to her?! How could he say something like that to _anybody_?! Wow, how could she have _ever_ liked someone like him in the past? She thought about it. He was hot…_He _is_ hot_.

Sakura shook the thoughts out of her head. Looks weren't everything. And it was always a total turn-off when said hot man was a total ass and had an ego twice the size of the Fire Country. All good looks went to waste when someone had that kind of attitude.

Speaking of the boy, he was in his room resting…probably just sitting there lackadaisically with that bored expression on his face. She pouted and then hopped into bed in shorts and a tank top. Idiot. She got so irritated when she thought of him and his unhealthy love of making her angry. He always raved on and on about how she was his and how he was going to be with her and marry her and use her to make babies, but the way he was going about it was just stupid. Would any girl say yes to that? She was sure that the boy wasn't too dumb (even though it made her feel better to say so). He just probably didn't know shit about getting the girl he wanted. He was either clueless about the topic, or had too big of an ego to show anybody they were just as important to him as he was important to himself. Sakura guessed both.

She rolled over in the bed, getting into a comfortable position. Even if he decided to act a different way, or change his actions into a way even remotely similar to how Tadashi treated her, she still would say no. He already stomped on her heart once, she was strong now and wasn't about to stand there and let him do it again. She was no idiot, but obviously he was.

Just when the girl was getting relaxed, she heard the doorbell ring. Sighing loudly, she pulled the cover over her head saying a small prayer for patience before slugging out of the bed and walking to the door. The pinkette did not see the Uchiha anywhere near the door and wasn't surprised.

She scratched her back. "Lazy prick…" she mumbled before opening the door to see a woman there. Sakura raised an eyebrow. The girl was tall and slim, about 5'8'' or so, with long, brown hair and deep, blue eyes. She had what seemed to be a spray tan on and was wearing a green tube top that showed a little too much skin, a jean mini skirt, and heels that made her practically tower of Sakura's 5'6'' physique. She wore a bright smile on her face and too much make-up for a sleepy Sakura to take in. She knew she wasn't a ninja, because the girl looked about her age and she would've remembered her from the academy. What was this—some kind of Girl Scout?

The pinkette peeked out the door to see if there were any cookies and then glared at the girl for an explanation when she saw there were none.

The girl's smile did not falter. "Hi, I'm Kimiko! I'm here to see Sasuke-kun. Is he home?"

To see Sasuke? Sasuke-_kun_? Who in their right mind wanted to see _Sasuke_? Oh God, did Sasuke hurt this poor girl last night when she wasn't here to watch him? "What did you say to him?" inquired Sakura slowly.

"Pardon?"

"Hold on." Sakura shut the door in the brunette's face without remorse. She could care less about some whore who showed up and ruined her nap. "SASUKE!" she shouted. "Get your busted ass out here!" The boy trudged out of the guestroom.

"What?" he asked frigidly.

She scowled at him. "Some girl name Kimiko is here to see you. What have you done to her?"

Sasuke rose an eyebrow. "Nothing," he said. "Let her in."

Sakura walked back over to the door not fully understanding why she didn't do just that in the first place, and opened the door. "Whatever, but I want a full explanation as to why the hell she is here." She looked at the girl grimly. "Come in."

"Thanks!" said the girl a little too excitedly for Sakura's taste and then walked in. Sakura coughed and blanched as she was hit in the face by little unicorns and sunshine rays and shit. Ok, maybe it was just the girl's perfume, but she had an unhealthy amount on. "Hi, Sasuke-kun!" screamed Kimiko, jumping on the boy as soon as she saw him. Sasuke did nothing, only look at the girl with those same unreadable eyes. She let go of him. "Ready to go?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "Go?" She looked at Sasuke expectantly. "Where are we going, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha didn't reply. "Not you, silly!" sang the blue-eyed woman. "Sasuke-kun and I are going on a date!"

Sakura chuckled, eyes still looking with interest at the Uchiha. Oh, this was rich. "A date?" questioned the kunoichi. The excited brunette nodded. Sakura playfully put her hands to her cheeks. "My, _Sasuke-kun_ never told me _anything_ about a date!"

The girl gasped thinking that Sakura actually cared and turned to Sasuke in wonder. "OMG, Sasuke-kun, you didn't tell your sister _anything_?!" Was this girl an idiot? Sasuke didn't have any siblings. Did they look anything alike, anyways?

Sakura rolled her eyes at the chick while she wasn't looking and then smirked. "Yeah, you heard the girl, Sasuke-kun: OMG!" Sakura caught the boys stare for awhile, and then closed her eyes. "Listen, sweetheart, Sasuke's not going anywhere," sighed Sakura, leaving her valley-girl impression behind. "The Hokage sentenced him to house arrest. I'm afraid he won't be leaving for a long, long time."

The brunette seemed really sad. "So, wait, Sasuke-kun and I can't go on a date today?"

Sakura stared at her awkwardly. "No." she said slowly. "_I'm afraid he won't be leaving for a long, long time._" Hadn't she just said that? But, then she saw something so unexpected it pretty much blew the girl away. Sasuke had wrapped his arm around the girl's waist. A sign of affection? Sakura gave the Uchiha boy a confused look.

"We are still going on our date," said the boy simply.

Kimiko looked up at him hopefully. "We are?!"

He nodded, beginning to walk to the door with her.

"But your sister just said we weren't!"

"You don't really have to listen to her."

Sakura stood between the door and the newly formed couple. "Sasuke, you know what I can do to you if you disobey…" warned the medic.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Fine, then we'll just have it here."

Sakura suddenly felt uncomfortable with that idea. "Ok, get out…just take Tenten with you. I know she's out there listening and would like to go. I just don't have the time to take you two on a love tour of the village; I have work to do…" She moved out of their way and could have sworn she heard a soft and thrilled 'yes' from the other side of the door. She smirked. So Tenten did have something to do with this.

She heard Kimiko sigh. "Do we _have_ to go with another person, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes."

"Is she another one of your sisters?"

"…yes…"

Sakura sighed as they walked out the door. She rubbed her hands over her face and then went back to her room to get ready. She still had something that she needed to get over with.

--

Sakura walked through the gates no problem once the ANBU disengaged the seal that stopped anybody from trespassing in the Uchiha part of town. It had been blocked off for a long time, a little more than a decade now. She nodded to the guard that she could take it from here, and he nodded back at her before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Striding through the streets, Sakura almost wanted to tip-toe. It was so silent, so quiet. She wasn't going to say it was in a good way, because it wasn't. The reason that it was so deadly quiet was because no one was here. They were all dead. The pinkette swallowed thickly. She had to settle down. How was she so worked up about people dying? She was shinobi, a _medical_ shinobi at that. She had seen enough deaths for a life time. She had caused some of those deaths purposefully.

Maybe it was that she was thinking of the raw power of being able to massacre a whole clan; a clan known infamously for its control over their kekkei genkai, no less. She shivered involuntarily. That much power was almost frightening. Maybe she was thinking of the cruelty of the whole thing. How could someone do that to their family and not feel any remorse? _Did_ Itachi feel remorse?(1) Maybe it was the horrible thought of her teammate having to live with that kind of tragedy for so many years and deep down inside she felt bad for him and secretly wanted to comfort him and help in any way she could.

Sakura shook her head of those thoughts and furrowed her eyebrows. What the hell was she thinking about? It was like someone put those thoughts in her head. That was the last thing she wanted to do. I mean, long ago when she was a weak-minded Sasuke-worshiper she might've wanted to, but now it was too late. She felt bad like she would for anyone who lost a family member or friend, but she didn't want to help anyone who didn't want to be helped. And Sasuke was definitely a person who didn't.

As she came up to one of the houses, her eyes hardened and she inhaled deeply. It was Sasuke's old home. She had only been to his house a couple times in the past. Her mother and Sasuke's mother were acquaintances when they were in the academy (coincidently, they both ended their ninja careers as chunin)(2) and she used to be sent by her mother to give baked goods to Uchiha Mikoto. It had been a long time ago, though, so long, Sakura almost doubted ever being here. The kunoichi looked all around the front of it and then began to walk a little past it. It was beautiful, but unfortunately, it was not what she was looking for. If Tsunade-shishou's directions were correct, what she was looking for was a few houses down from Uchiha Fugaku and his family's manor. It was the main hall where the heads of the Uchiha clan all got together to have meetings. This place was sacred and top secret, almost as sacred as The Nakano Shrine(3) where Sasuke had told Anko and Ibiki the secret of the Mangekyou was hidden. Sakura got excited knowing that she was one of the first people who weren't an Uchiha to be able to enter the place. The Haruno slowly went up the creaking, wooden steps and under the yellow tape that was on the door. The room was big with a lot of chairs and a nice sized table in the center of them. There were no windows, just a few lights up above. She noticed blood stains on the floor and the rotten, musty smell of corpses filled her nose, though it had been so many years since the actual massacre and no bodies were still around. The bitter smell of staleness also reached her senses, but she understood that since nobody had been using the place for years. All these different scents made her eyes water, but she fought through it as she walked to the other side where a door was.

She opened the door slowly, ripping through a bunch of yellow tape and then closed the door silently behind her. This room was much darker than the other one and Sakura squinted her eyes tight trying to get a glimpse of the room. She took a few steps forward before pausing and raising a pink eyebrow. The girl knelt down and knocked on the wooden floorboards, her breath hitching as she put her ear to the ground. She heard the drip-drop of water, and the sound of her fist hitting the wood sounded hollow. The flooring here was more hollow than the flooring in the other room. Sakura desperately grabbed around for a torch of some kind, so she could start a fire for light and investigate the room a little more. She was sure this place was what she was looking for. Standing up, she felt the walls, soon finding something that felt like a torch. She pulled at it trying to detach it from the wall, when she felt it rotate slightly, before a cracking sound was heard. She gasped as a misty, damp air hit her legs before she pulled the torch fully off the wall and then looked down to see a square of the wooden floor gone. A trap door? Wow, the whole pull the torch thing wasn't very imaginative. But she guessed no one was usually in the Uchiha part of town other than Uchiha.

She reached into her butt pouch and pulled out a pack of matches, lighting one and putting it to the torch before shaking her hand to blow the fire on the match out. She hopped down into a cavern and held the light out, taking in her surroundings. The walls were moist and made out of rock, there was a dirt ground as well. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she began walking. The cave was just what Tsunade had said to look for. This was the place. She was sure that the information was somewhere in the back and she hoped to Kami this place wasn't as big as it seemed. Sakura sure didn't have a plan to escape a labyrinth other than to bust the thing to pieces and hope she could see the light of day again and that wasn't a very good way of preserving something as historical as this place.

Sakura gasped, hissing as her sandaled toe hit a rock about the size or a grapefruit. She pouted at it. It was rather heavy…Sakura hopped back as a kunai slammed into the wall right next to her. Holding her torch up to it, she noticed a black liquid sliding down the wall from the knife. Sakura's eyes widened. Poison! "Oh, shit!" she groaned as hundreds of small projectiles began shooting from the two walls beside her. She pushed chakra to her feet as she began running through the cavern and dodging everyone that came at her. There was no way she was getting hit. She hadn't thought of bringing any type of antidote in case of poison.

Sakura's teeth gritted as her toe throbbed and even though she didn't look down, she knew there was blood. Crap. The kunai were coming out faster now. She quickly pulled out a kunai of her own and stopped for a while knocking the ones around her to the ground quickly, before catching her breath for a brief second and jetting off again. She put her kunai to good use, torch still in the other hand lighting the way (and knocking away kunai from that side of her body), and then gasped as she saw the sight in front of her. Two doors were closing rapidly all the way at the end of the hallway. The kunoichi growled, pumping more chakra to her feet while still dodging and ricocheting the kunai about her. The doors were still about 50 meters away; she wasn't going to make it. Sakura frowned. She wouldn't have time to punch through the first wall while still reflecting the kunai. There were just too many. If she went a little faster, she could make it through the first one. She inhaled deeply before picking up her speed even more. She parried a couple more kunai before bending down and sliding through the first door just in time.

A green chakra engulfed the kunoichi's hand as she tried to slow her breathing. She placed it to her foot, instantly healing her cut toe and then tried to smear some of the sticky, dried blood away. Sakura picked herself up off the ground, her breathing still hard and hurried as she heard the kunai throwing in the hallway cease. They must've responded to the opening and closing of the doors. Dropping the kunai to the ground, she dusted herself off with that hand, while still holding the torch in the other. She swiped a hand through her hair, exhaling as her eyebrows furrowed before setting the torch against the wall and gathered her chakra in her fist. Letting out a battle cry, she punched the door and it cracked a little before falling to the ground. Sakura grabbed the torch, climbing over the rocks (they had been more like boulders, the doors were that big), and walked into a dimly lit room.

The pinkette gasped as she looked around her. This was definitely it. The room was huge, still cave-like. At the very back stood a large statue of what seemed to be Uchiha Madara. He had his Mangekyo Sharingan activated and his hands were in some sort of chakra building form. Around the walls, there were hundreds of shelves, filled with dusty books and manuscripts and many tables and chairs out in the middle. In front of Madara's statue, there was a podium with a large, oak chest on it. The room resembled somewhat of a library and smelled stale and earthy, but Sakura got the gist that everything in the Uchiha part of town smelled as such.

But the place was amazing. She was sure some of these books dated back to before Konoha even originated, and as a bona fide bookworm, she didn't want _anything_ more than to sink her teeth into some of the books. She had to stay focused, though. One day, she hoped to come in here and read for hours, _days_. Unfortunately, she doubted she'd ever be back.

The medic walked up to the podium and gazed at the chest. It was dark brown and didn't even look like it had an opening. Sakura put her hands into the same chakra building position as Madara had, and began doing a long string of hand signs that Tsunade had taught her. Apparently, she, Tsunade, and (maybe) Sasuke were the only three people who knew it in the village. After finishing her hand signs, her hands began to glow a blue color and she placed them on the box. The box in turn opened, showing a few old documents inside, along with a scroll. Sakura grabbed the scroll, before doing another hand sign. "Kai!" she said so she could make sure if there were any genjutsu in it, they would be released. Opening the scroll, she began to read it, her eyes quickly scanning over it.

She gasped. _This was_…putting the scroll back into the box after reading it once again, she leafed through the other pages in the box, eyes widening. If this were all true, the antidote for the sharingan would have to be changed slightly. This wasn't good. She would definitely have to report this to Tsunade at the end of the week when she informed the Hokage of her research progress. This information could change practically everything.

The kunoichi put all the documents back into the box before sealing it and letting it close. She soon left the building, but she refused to leave the Uchiha manor before paying respect to the Uchiha in their clan graveyard.

--

Sakura walked towards the Ichiraku Ramen and smiled at the joyous blonde already seated at one of the stools. Once a month, Team 7 tried to get together at Ichiraku for lunch. Sakura had promised Naruto this ever since they got their own genin teams, so their new lives wouldn't split them up too much. She sat herself down at the counter next to the jinchuuriki.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" greeted the boisterous, blue-eyed boy.

"Hey, Naruto, Kakashi." Sakura leaned over to see the copy-nin's face in a book. It wasn't Icha Icha (Kakashi had run out of those books ever since Jaraiya was killed), but it was still some sort of porn. Her old sensei picked up his head, his one eye crinkling to show he was smiling.

"Oh, hello, Sakura," said Kakashi. "I didn't notice you coming. How have you been?"

Sakura grinned. "Fine," she sighed. "Tired, though…"

Kakashi chuckled. "Ah, long night?" questioned the copy-nin, his eyes back on his book. Their bowls and plates were set out in front of them. Sakura got the same thing every time, so Naruto had probably ordered for her.

The medic blushed slightly, scratching the back of her head and looking down with a small smile. "Actually…"

"Hey, where's teme?" interrupted Naruto as he slurped up the noodles in his bowl.

Sakura wasn't really feeling like talking about the Uchiha. She didn't want to admit it, but he had been at the back of her mind all day. Well…him and that girl, anyway. She didn't know _why_ she was thinking of them. She didn't really care if he had some other girl all over him and that was a fact. She loved Tadashi…But she couldn't get him out of her mind. She couldn't help but laugh as she thought about what he was doing, though. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she giggled before taking a bite of her tempura.

Naruto looked excitedly at Kakashi who had actually looked up from his book. "Try us."

"Alright." Sakura smirked. "He's on a date."

There was silence except for Naruto who was choking on his ramen. She saw a playful glint in Kakashi's eye and knew that he had a mischievous grin on his face. Sakura patted Naruto's back, willing him to breathe and he looked at her like she was crazy. "I told you you wouldn't believe me," she said.

"You mean teme—_Sasuke_-teme's—on a date?! What girl is so gorgeous and perfect that he deemed her worthy of his time?" The Kyuubi container looked so confused but she could tell he was still laughing.

Sakura thought about the girl and shook her head. "I think what you mean is: what girl is so desperate as to go out with an ass like him. And to both questions I have no answer."

"Aren't your orders to stay with him at all times?" inquired Kakashi softly.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but as long as an ANBU squad is watching him it's fine and Tenten is with him right now." Naruto's eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth to question the kunoichi about Tenten. "Don't ask," said Sakura, cutting the boy off. She looked around Kakashi. "Where are Sai and Yamato-taichou?"

"Missions," replied Kakashi simply.

Naruto grunted. "Who wants that Sai around anyway? He's mean, too. All he does is talk about dicks and other stuff no one wants to talk about…" grumbled the boy around the food in his mouth.

Sakura scowled and clicked her tongue. "Naruto, don't be rude. He's a teammate and we don't talk about our teammates that way," she tisked, but couldn't help but smile when she saw his pouty face. Sakura reached out and ran a hand through his spiky, blonde locks. He made a sound that said he was confused and then smiled brightly. She had missed this. It had been awhile since she was able to spend time with her team like this. It wasn't all of her team, but it still felt wonderful.

The pinkette pushed her food away from her and then rested her head on the table. "Talk to me about life, guys." She really needed to get her mind of that prick and his little girlfriend anyway.

--

Sakura constantly thought about the Uchiha and his day without her. It was normal, though, wasn't it? She hadn't spent a day without the Uchiha for over a couple months now. She was used to having the bastard around, what could she say?

She had left Ichiraku's as a very content person after spending about two hours talking with Naruto and Kakashi. And she was sure she would be able to face the Uchiha without wanting to beat him because of her joyous mood. But now as she thought of him, all she could think about was her anger at him for ditching her for some whore. Where were his values? I mean, not that she cared. Because she really, _really_ didn't…

She loved Tadashi…

How many times had the girl repeated that to herself over the course of her day? It worked for a little bit, but after awhile, her thoughts were back to Sasuke and she _hated_ that. She sure as _hell_ didn't love him—she barely even liked him or respected him as a person. What was going on?

She didn't want to go home and spend time alone in the apartment so she had decided to take a walk. The pinkette had ended up at Team 7's old training area and she went to sit down under a tree. Leaning against the old, tall tree, she sighed and let the wind wipe the rosette locks from her face. Why did she come here again? Sitting down in the quiet alone was what she was trying to _avoid_. The last thing she wanted to do was reminisce on the "good, old days" and think about that _boy_.

Just as she was about to get up, she saw someone coming in the distance: her perfect, albeit unsuspectfull savior. Her knight in shining armor that would save her from the past she didn't want to return to.

"Sai, I thought you had a mission," called the girl to the pale-skinned boy.

The boy looked up and then flashed her one of his fake smiles. "Ah, Sakura. I didn't notice you were over here." People had been saying that a lot lately. Was she really that unnoticeable? "I just finished it. I was about to do a little drawing." He sat down right next to her so that they were practically touching. He never did have a really good understanding of personal space. Sai pulled out a few drawing utensils and a pad of paper.

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "How was it?" she questioned politely.

He smiled up at her. "It was bearable, but whenever I felt down about it, I just thought about how awful yours is and suddenly felt better!" he answered truthfully.

Sakura crossed her arms and glared to the side childishly. "Well, anything is better than having to be with him," she mumbled angrily. Just what she needed; her savior trying to revert her back to her old, brooding ways. She glared as she thought about her old teammate.

"Hey, Ugly, you mind if I draw you?" asked Sai, not seeming to care at all about how he made the girl feel.

"No, Sai, go on ahead…" grumbled the girl, still thinking about the boy.

"Hey, Sakura…" She looked up to show she was listening. "If you're so angry about your mission, why don't you just ask Hokage-sama to give it to someone else?"

Sakura shook her head. "It's just not that simple, Sai," she sighed.

"I'm sure it's more simple that it seems." Sai's face was back to its impassive state. "You're Hokage-sama's favorite, it's obvious. So she'll help you out, right?"

Sakura covered her face with her hands. "It's just _not that simple_," she repeated. "And my shishou does not play favorite's!" argued the girl, as she pouted at the boy. He looked at her blankly for awhile and she sighed again. "Ok, maybe a little…"

Sai began drawing again. "Then why do you put up with it?"

She couldn't believe she was explaining this to Sai, but for some reason talking to him was easy and made her feel a little better. "I guess it's because…Naruto thinks of Sasuke as his brother. He's always wanted to bring Sasuke back and I'll do anything to help," she explained gently.

Sai looked a little perplexed. "You do something you don't want to do for someone else...why?"

Sakura laughed sweetly at Sai and her eyes softened. "Well, because I love Naruto. He's one of the most important people in my life and I would do anything for his happiness." Her face became sad. "When we lost Sasuke, he was so distraught…there was nothing we could do. If it weren't for my weakness back then, that probably would have never happened. I guess I'm doing this to...repay Naruto for all he's done for me and redeem myself of my weaknesses."

Sai smiled and looked up at her. "You act like it was your entire fault he ran away. Sasuke ran away on his own will. You and Naruto should stop blaming yourselves for everything, even if you both are ugly."

Sakura stared at the boy for awhile, a bemused and unhappy look on her face. Then she let out a small grunt that could be taken as a snide laugh as she nodded her head slowly to assure herself that she knew that was coming; jade orbs fixated on the ground before they glanced at the pale friend sitting next to them.

Sakura licked her lips. "Thank-you, Sai…You know…" She smirked at him, glaring playfully. "I don't know what I hate more: your crude jokes or Sasuke."

Sai's humor was hurtful sometimes, but it was a push to think more than feel as a shinobi—at the times when it was necessary, that is. Sai was right; Sasuke never intended for his escape of Konoha to be personal (or cared if it was either way—if it was or wasn't); his reasons to leave were so selfish, so one-sided he had no time to force such hate on others. All of his hate had been directed toward his brother at the time.

"Once again, you are a master at saying something that contradicts with your smile." Sakura didn't feel the need to say Sai did the same thing all the time. "You've always been so good at that..." He looked flummoxed for a second as if thinking thoroughly about something then flashed one of his familiar fake smiles for the umpteenth time that day and stood up, closing his notebook. Hypocrite. "It's okay, Ugly…" He brushed the dirt off his butt, smile still in play. "Even though you're very unattractive and have a huge forehead, I still wouldn't have left you," he chirped joyfully.

Sakura's eyes saddened slightly as she looked down, bubblegum locks falling into her face. "Thank-you, Sai…" she whispered inaudibly so even he couldn't hear.

With that, his smile only widened as he waved at her and dismissed himself in a puff of smoke. Sakura sighed before gazing down to see a piece of paper with her picture on it. She picked it up, before searching around to see if Sai had noticed he had forgotten it and come back. Upon looking at it, she couldn't help but smile. It was picture of her with short hair, so it was back when she was about fifteen. She was smiling and her eyes shimmered happily. So, that was what he remembered her as, huh? That was a time when Sakura still had hope for Sasuke, when she thought herself and Naruto would one day bring him back and everything would be perfect like it was before. She folded the picture gingerly and put it in her pocket. This was her new goal: to be and look as happy as she was then.

Suddenly, the jounin sensei saw another person coming in the distance. She rolled her eyes; just what she needed. "Oh, God…" she murmured to herself. "If it isn't the ladies man…"

The Uchiha obviously hadn't heard her—or if he did, he decided to ignore it—and walked up to her leisurely, taking a seat by her. He didn't speak, just sat there. She felt the heat coming from his body and how it burned her skin slightly less than it used to.

"Where's your girlfriend?" she asked.

He gazed at her for a little. "Home."

"Ah…and how was your date?"

Again he stared at her, but didn't say anything. She smirked; she understood him perfectly. They wouldn't be seeing much of that bimbo anymore.

"That good, ne?" She chuckled. "She wasn't your type anyway…" Sasuke could tell by the small talk that she was forgiving him ever so slightly for his comments last night.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what _is_ my type?"

Sakura pouted. "Not her…" She felt his gaze on her and turned around. She was so close to him, so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. "And not me, either…" Then she looked away a little too quickly.

Sasuke smirked sadistically. "We'll see…"

Step forward: Sakura had _obviously_ been a little jealous; steps back: Sakura was still a little grouchy from the night before, and he had wasted his day with some annoying slut when he could've been with his perfect Sakura…

* * *

**A/N:** HI GUYS! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Ooh, that whole Uchiha mansion thing was never supposed to be that long and I'm sorry if it bored you…the contents of the scroll will most likely be spilled in the next chapter. And I was going to talk about Sasuke's date, but I'll leave that up to your imagination because really, I don't even know what I made them do and I was too lazy to think of anything…

I'm also sorry for such a lame way for Sasuke to get back at Sakura! That was stupid, I'll admit, but he and Tenten (of whom _I_ don't even know what side the girl is on) have more up their sleeves thanks to **Cueil**!

(1) Sakura, or anyone other than Sasuke for that matter, still do not know that Itachi's mission was to kill the Uchiha's. They still think of him as a bad person who did it for no reason. Sorry if this is a spoiler for some people.

(2) I believe that in one of the flashback episodes while Naruto and Sasuke were fighting at the Valley of the End that Sasuke remarked on Mikoto only being a chunin. I also understand that on some websites it says that she was a jounin when she quit being a ninja. I'm not exactly sure, but for this story, let's just say her and Sakura's mother were chunin when they quit.

(3) Itachi told Sasuke that the secrets of the Mangekyo were "at the main temple of the Nakano Shrine...on the far right side, under the Tatami Mat is the Clan's secret meeting place". This shouldn't at all be a spoiler for anyone.

Also, if anyone's seen the Shippuden Movie II: Bonds, the little girl (I forget her name, but I know it starts with an 'A') in it kinda looks like Masami except for the eye-color if anyone cared to know what she and the rest of the Fukushima looked like...no one cares? Alrighty then...

Please keep reading and reviewing! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	9. Allies

**A/N: **Chello! Here's another chapter for you! Hope you like it! Sorry, it's a little…or A LOT later then I planned it to come out, but I got this puppy, you see, and I'm not allowed to leave it alone…so I have little time to do even necessary things like bathe, sleep, and eat (that's a little bit of a white lie, but it's sometimes true!) Well…ENJOY!

Also, if anyone's up with their Naruto manga...HOLY FUCK! DANZO!!! (this shouldn't be a spoiler to anyone; you'll only understand if you're there!)

Anyways...

Thx for the reviews!

* * *

Chapter 8: Allies

Sasuke lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He thought he had heard Sakura call him just a moment ago, but he chose not to answer. She was probably just going to tell him she was going to the market, or to go train her students—nothing _important_. The pinkette would probably just bust into the guest room, screaming at him about listening to her every once and a while, and then proceed to slam the door and leave the house. It had been a couple of weeks since his useless date with that one girl…what was her name again? Anyways, Sakura had begun to leave him alone at home from time to time now. She said that she's just had enough of having to watch his ass every waking moment of the day, but he knew the girl had begun to trust him more.

Sasuke frowned remembering what the girl had talked to him about those weeks ago. How did she find out that much information, anyway? How did she find that place? No one was supposed to know of that place, not even him. He would have understood if she had been sent to the main temple of the Nakano Shrine. It was another place where the Uchiha had very private meetings. But that place was…

He tried to shake it out of his head, but Sakura's words were still fresh in his mind…

"_Sasuke, how would you say your eyesight is—20/20?" questioned the girl after a long silence. It had been an easy, peaceful silence, and the Uchiha had been enjoying it._

"_Not exactly," he answered truthfully. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Where was she going with this?_

_She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "It's different from before you killed Itachi. Sometimes things seem blurry." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. It was like she loved finding his weaknesses. "You've used the Mangekyou before, haven't you?" He did not answer and she looked at him through hard, teal eyes._

"_A couple times."_

_Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Why didn't you tell me that? That changes everything…"_

_Sasuke stared at the girl's face for a little while. She was biting her lip and she looked to be thinking very hard. He looked forward. "Once you gain the Mangekyou, it is automatically activated. That was the one time I ever had it on for a long period of time. That and sometimes it used to activate itself."_

_Sakura looked to the side. "The sharingan is a powerful but modest blood-line trait. If you were to never go blind, by having the Mangekyou, you would be nearly invincible." She looked at him again. "In other words, the reason you gradually go blind is so that the sharingan isn't too powerful." Sasuke's eyes widened for a millisecond. "Anyone could obtain power and perfection too easily if this wasn't the case. This comes and has come with the blood-line trait of every sharingan." Sakura sighed. "That would mean that there is no absolute cure other than taking the eyes of a brother…Am I correct?" inquired the girl smoothly. Sasuke nodded, and the girl frowned, annoyed. "Then why would you use it—especially if you are the last Uchiha left?"_

_Sasuke looked at the girl blankly. "I won't be for long."_

_Sakura glared at him, her lips thinning once she realized where he was going with this and then she sighed looking away. "Talking to you about this is useless and frustrating…" she murmured soflty, but angrily. "All I want to say is finding something to slow the process, stop, or find a cure for the pain will take a longer time than I so planned," she explained dryly._

"_Hn."_

--

He didn't understand how this girl expected to do anything about his sharingan. It would happen to anyone who had the Mangekyou and would eventually happen to him. It was life.

"Sasuke!" A flurry of pink busted into his room with a scowl on her face. "Don't you hear me calling you?! What the hell is your problem?!"

"Hn," he groaned sitting up and leaving his reverie. He looked at the girl.

She put her hands on her hips. "Tenten is here for you," she said and then pointed out the door. "I'm going to the hospital for a few hours and then to the training grounds. I'll be back later."

Sasuke stood up and walked out after the girl, silently. Upon entering the room, Tenten smiled at Sasuke, waving at him and the boy couldn't help but give the helpful girl a look of approval and a small upturn of his lip.

Sakura put her hands on her hips and frowned at Tenten, looking away stubbornly. The weapon's mistress, finally seeing the look of disapproval in her friend's turquoise eyes, shrugged at the Haruno and said, "What?!"

Sakura spared her friend a small glare. "How long have _I _been your friend, Tenten, and you came over to see_ him_?" She had spat the word "him" like it was poison to her tongue and the Uchiha glowered at her.

Tenten pouted playfully. "Oh, Saku-baby, you know I love you more than life," she said sweetly and then lounged back on the couch. "But, Sasuke needs friends too, huh?" Sasuke felt something flutter in his stomach at Tenten's words. It was the same feeling that he had once had when his mother would say something kind to him.

Sakura glared at him for awhile. "No," she decided, looking back at Tenten. "Besides, he doesn't want friends," said the pinkette defiantly.

Tenten shook her head at the girl. "You don't know that," she fought.

Sakura crossed her arms and looked to the side. "I do…" she mumbled quietly, mostly to herself. Nobody said anything to that. After a few seconds, the medic looked up and sighed, grabbing her keys off the counter with a smirk the older ninja's way. "I'm telling Neji about this little 'friendship'," she taunted playfully as she headed to the door.

The brunette watched Sakura open the door. "He already knows." She smiled proudly.

"He's angry." It sounded like a question, but she knew Sakura was sure about what she had said.

Tenten waved the thought of her angry husband off. "He's always had a stick up his ass, anyway."

The pinkette laughed. "Shoving it up even further will not help the matter. I'll see you two later." She gave them one more warning look. "Behave." She had enunciated the word so sternly, before walking out the door.

Tenten stuck a tongue the pinkette's way and then smiled at the Uchiha, ushering him to come over and sit next to her on the couch. Sasuke closed his eyes and walked over to the couch, plopping himself on it with a sigh, arms crossed.

There was a good, long time of silence before the kunoichi spoke up. "The Konoe clan is having a dinner tonight." Tenten grinned deviously.

Sasuke shrugged. "So."

Tenten looked at him expectantly. "So…" she pursued. The Uchiha was not catching on; he only stared at her blankly. "So the Fukushima are on the top of the guest list, _especially_ the head family."

Sasuke looked at Tenten for awhile, trying to detect what the girl was getting at and then sighed. "Hn," he grunted. "Good for them." Maybe she'd catch _his_ hint and just explain what the hell she was talking about.

She rolled her eyes. "Sas-_uke_!" whined the girl in an exasperated voice. "That means that Sakura will be going as Tadashi's date—" Sasuke frowned at this. "—And Masami and Masaru will be there too—" Sasuke's frown only deepened. "And even though Masami is already against you, Masaru hasn't picked a side yet," finished the girl, her cunning face back in place.

Sasuke looked at the girl long and hard—he did it so much now she was used to it. Not to mention, she got the same look from Neji all the time. Tenten only smiled victoriously, awaiting the praise she deserved for such a sneaky and bright plan. Time passed as he continued to stare at her, but she continued to smile that 100 watt grin; she could wait for something she wanted so badly.

Finally, "You expected me to understand your whole plan from your sly, little looks?"

Tenten's smile faded and she gawked at the boy. That was not something she had been expecting to hear come from the boy's mouth. "Well," she huffed. "I thought you were said to be a genius," she said, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

He sighed and said nothing. With stubborn people like Tenten, you just had to let some things go. He smirked at the angry girl and that reassured her enough to take the rebellious look off her face.

She smirked. "Would you like for me to continue, or do you have any more rude comments?"

His smirk did not fade and he crossed his arms, showing that he would not make anymore interruptions if she so pleased.

Tenten smiled happily. "Well, you pretty much catch the gist of the whole thing, but just to further explain, my plan is to turn Masaru-kun, Masami's twin brother, to your side of this whole thing. Without being too forward, you will have to persuade Masaru into liking Sakura with you, more than he does with his own brother." Sasuke frowned. How was that possible? Unless Masaru had the same feelings towards his brother that the young Uchiha did towards his own after Itachi killed their clan, there was no way.

Tenten paused, seeing the doubt on Sasuke's face. "It seems impossible, Sasuke, but the way you act—you're a born leader. He, and everyone else for that matter, can't help but follow the things you say." Her gaze was sincere when she said that. "Besides, Masaru-kun is indifferent towards the relationship. He's not totally one-sided like his sister, and can easily be pushed to your side," she explained calmly. "You'll probably want to get him alone. I'll help too. I'll try and get you two away from Sakura, Masami, the people that want to talk to him about marriage, your dates, and etcetera."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow. He was now confused about a number of things, but he would first start with… "Date?"

Tenten looked at him wide-eyed before chuckling. "Well, yeah…These things are very important. Image is everything." Sasuke stared at her, once again, waiting for her to get to the point. "You are required to have a date, Sasuke." The sharingan-wielder sighed. There wasn't a problem in getting a date—I mean, he was _Uchiha Sasuke_, for heaven's sake; it would be easy. The problem lied in someone other than Sakura actually thinking there were feelings between them. It would be annoying to deal with, and he was not looking forward to it.

"You and Neji both are from very, _very_prestigious clans that never had a need to marry off their people, but you must understand that this is way of life for other clan's," explicated the weapon's mistress solemnly. "They used to use it as a way to make treaties with the other shinobi countries, but few risk it with the war going on."

Sasuke gazed at her awkwardly. "Shouldn't it be the other way around in order to ensure the alliances between the countries?" asked Sasuke.

Tenten shook her head. "Not quite. The alliance seems fine at first. The woman usually leaves and goes to where the man lives, and we're all happy. But, if something were to go wrong, we don't know what is happening to the woman we've sent off. This then causes hostility between both countries. The woman's country because they fear the life of their citizen, and the man's because they are angry that the other country doesn't trust them. The treaty is then broken."

Sasuke frowned slightly. That was absurd. "So, it's everyone against everyone?"

Tenten shook her head again and chuckled. "Not quite. We still have alliances with Suna and other small shinobi countries. Rain is with Cloud. The Sound village is said to be allied with the Mist, but Oto has fallen since Orochimaru's death, leaving Mist alone." Sasuke smirked at this. "Iwa has many alliances with the small shinobi countries, but they are mostly inactive in the war. They, and their allies, have wisely decided to not do much of anything." Tenten smiled, and leaned back into the sofa, giving Sasuke a playful look. "But I digress…"

Sasuke's smirk did not falter as he stood up from the sofa. "So, who am I supposed to be going with? I assume since you made such a fool-proof plan that you have thought of this, as well."

The chocolate-eyed kunoichi laughed sheepishly. "Well…I do know…_someone_..." She gave him a knowing look.

Sasuke shook his head, eyes emotionless. "No."

Tenten whimpered. "Sasuke, you don't even know who I'm going to say yet!" griped the girl.

"I do, and the answer is no."

Tenten stood up. She was taller than Sakura, so he didn't have to look down too far to see her pleading eyes. "Just go with her, Sasuke. Who else is going to want to go with you on such late notice?"

Sasuke smirked egotistically. "Did you really just ask me that question?"

The ANBU scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes darkened dangerously. "You really are a self-righteous prick." She sighed, and her eyes softened a bit. "Just do what I say. Trust me, Sasuke."

The Uchiha stared at the girl impassively for awhile before sighing. "Alright." He began to walk towards the door. "I guess I should go find her."

"She already knows. You are to pick Kimiko up at 5:00." Sasuke paused in his tracks. "Your yukata is in Sakura's room." He could hear the cockiness in her voice; feel her smirk in her words.

He turned around. "You knew I would say yes."

She smiled warmly, her eyes twinkling. "Well, I was hoping," she said softly.

He gave her an amused look. "Whose side are you on again?"

She giggled. "Shut-up."

--

The Konoe Clan's dinner was a way to get young, promising, rich ninja to meet one another, and enjoy one another's company, so that one day, the parents of said ninja would hopefully be hearing wedding bells. In other words, the whole thing was a set up. Tenten was right; image was everything, and if you were young, promising, and/or rich, and you _didn't_ have a date on your arm, you had better bet these over-bearing parents would pounce.

With their hawk-eyes they watched every move you made, what kind of yukata you were wearing that night, the way that you spoke. You'd think this nightmare was only for that day, but only the ones new at this could not understand that it was a long-term deal. When your missions and receiving of money went up and up, they'd "surprise" you with silly visits, warm but fake smiles, and little dates with their (most likely reluctant) son or daughter, then "mysteriously" find a way out of your life when your missions and money seem to plummet.

The Konoe Clan, and many others, try and cover this seemingly vicious and rich person's game with "sweet" small talk, and beautiful, breathtaking locations. This time, the get together was in the Konoe's one acre garden, along with one of their porches. Sasuke refrained from calling the thing a dinner anymore because really, all they had were a few stiff-looking gentlemen walking around with a few (snacks) and champagne, and a long table on the porch with fancy cheeses and expensive sashimi.

As Sasuke walked around with the blabbering, blue-eyed brunette on his arm, he noticed two things about the situation at hand (one good, and one bad). The one good thing was that both Sakura and Masami were being talked to by various clan leaders. Masami, standing close enough to Hiroki that many knew of their betrothal, but far away enough that it was respectful for people their age (though, he could see their fingers twitching; they wanted so much to hold one another's hand), and Sakura, a bright smile on her face as Tadashi's arm was wrapped around her waist. Sasuke's grip immediately tightened around Kimiko's waist in anger, her rambling coming to a complete stop.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" questioned the girl meekly, for once in her life.

The Uchiha, finally noticing the tense and livid aura he was giving off, feigned calmness, and looked down at the girl. "Nothing is wrong," he answered composedly, before glaring back at the pinkette and her boyfriend. Sasuke missed the sad, blue eyes of the woman he was with and the way she followed his stare to the one he really loved.

The bad thing was that Masaru was also being either stalked by a bunch of little girls, or talked to by their middle-aged mothers. Though polite, Sasuke could see the utter distaste written all over his face. The ex-leaf-ninja sighed, it would be difficult to try to get him alone without at least some people noticing and being suspicious.

"Oi, Sasuke, Kimiko-san!" The boy jerked his head up to see the weapon's mistress walking hurriedly towards him, her ever-stoic spouse on her arm. Once she got to him, she seemed to be out of breath and overjoyed. "Hey, how are you two?"

"Fine," replied Sasuke.

Kimiko looked up at him to see he was finished speaking and then back at Tenten. "And you?" she asked. Sasuke stared down at the blue-eyed girl. Her attitude seemed to have changed over the course of only a few minutes.

She smiled. "Good, good!" Then she glared slightly at the silent Hyuga. "Neji, say hello!" So she didn't just nag him.

The cream-eyed Hyuga closed his eyes. "Uchiha, Hotaru-san," he greeted.

Tenten rolled her eyes, and then looked over towards the pink-haired medic. "Looks like Sakura is having a fun time," she joked with a giggle, before giving a side glance Sasuke's way. She then looked up at her husband. "What do you think they're talking about over there, Neji?"

"Marriage, of course," responded the Hyuga blandly. Sasuke's lips thinned into a straight line. "Tadashi might be with Sakura, but the various clans that want him to court their daughters don't stop until it's legally written on paper." Neji looked hard at the Uchiha. "But by the way that he's holding Sakura-san, I would say that he's not taking up any offers. What do you think, Uchiha?" inquired Neji. He knew something, it was just that obvious.

Sasuke gave an impassive, albeit annoyed, face. "Aa."

Tenten stared at the ex-Hebi-leader worriedly, before the other brunette woman spoke up. "I think the two of them together is beautiful. I wish the best for Sakura-san." Sasuke repressed the want to raise an eyebrow. That was the most serious thing he had ever heard come out of the girl's mouth. What the hell was up with her? This was definitely not the same Kimiko he had gone out with all those weeks ago.

Tenten's concerned gaze dropped to the ground. "I think we all do…" she whispered, almost inaudibly. Her eyelashes then fluttered for a moment, before she grinned up at the Hyuga. "Neji, could you please get me some champagne?" she asked happily.

Neji stared at her for a moment before nodding and walking away. Tenten then gave the girl on Sasuke's arm the same look. The blue-eyed girl smiled sadly, and then muttered something about making a trip to the ladies room, before walking off.

Tenten crossed her arms, and her fake smile left her countenance.

"She's different," spoke Sasuke.

The weapon's mistress sighed. "She's sobered up quite a bit. She's fallen for you, Sasuke." The Uchiha figured as much. "I'm afraid she won't stop at anything to be with you. She'll probably do anything you want her to now, subdue to all of your commands, even if they hurt her."

"Did you plan this?"

Tenten looked hurt. "No, of course not! Why would I _plan_ to use this poor girl?" she gasped.

Sasuke was a little taken aback. Not at Tenten, but at his own question. Why would he assume something like that? Tenten was kind and friendly, not in the way that innocent and quiet Hinata was, but she was still good. He looked down. The usually stoic boy almost felt bad; he never wanted to hurt Tenten, the kindest person to him. "I…didn't mean for it…"

She smiled shyly. "You don't have to apologize. It's a perfectly sound assumption. I over-exaggerated." He smirked, almost feeling even worse than when he tried to apologize. "Listen, Masaru is bound to leave the conversation he's having with that lady at some point. When he does, I want you to _discreetly_find out where he's going and follow him. Don't worry about the others that might be suspicious; I'll take care of them," promised the girl. She smiled at him for awhile before her eyes widened at the young Fukushima boy. "Look, there he goes!" she said, pointing at the young red-haired boy who had just finished bowing respectfully at the woman he'd been talking to. "Go, I've got your back."

Sasuke bitterly looked at the boy as he began to walk off, silently calculating where the boy was heading as Tenten walked off to have a "friendly" chat with either Sakura or Masami. After eyeing him for awhile, he noticed the young Fukushima was heading towards the patio where the food was. Sighing, the onyx-haired boy loosened up; there would be no one wondering why he was there. Many people were heading towards it at all times throughout the party.

The Uchiha incomspicuosly began walking towards the food bar, nodding at familiar faces politely. Once he was there, he searched for the boy, before observing sly hazel eyes look around as the boy entered a hallway. Sasuke followed quickly, but emotionlessly, as to not draw attention.

The boy had entered a corridor where only a few people were. There were pictures and paintings of people (probably those of Konoe lineage) on the richly designed walls that the few people that were there glanced at before walking to the next a little ways down. Masaru was all the way at the end, staring at a picture intently, his face hard as stone. But as Sasuke got closer to the boy, he noticed his eyes were soft as he stared at the portrait. Upon closer inspection, the picture was of a beautiful young woman with long, curly, honey-colored locks, warm tan skin, and soaring azure eyes that danced even in the image.

"Your sister?"

The boy stiffened slightly out of surprise, but then his eyes narrowed into thin slits. He showed no signs of answering the question, so Sasuke, even though out of his element (he didn't like to speak much at all), continued on.

The Uchiha took a step nearer, so that he was practically standing next to the boy. "You look similar," he said coolly. He gave him an impassive sideways look. "I assume she had something to do with the Konoe if she's on this wall."

The red-haired boy plastered a calculating look on his face, but did not tear his eyes from the photo. "She was betrothed to one, but died a week before their wedding on a mission." Though he had mumbled the confession, his voice was still strong as he said it, and Sauske respected him for that.

It wasn't like the ex-Leaf-nin to apologize for much of anything, so he stayed quiet, and he was sure the Fukushima understood that. For awhile, silence reigned.

The young genin crossed his arms, and glared at the Uchiha. "I don't know why you're talking to me, but—"

"I love Sakura," declared the sharingan-wielder without emotion, cutting the boy off with ease.

Masaru, caught off guard by the profession, gawked for a little while at the older ninja with his eyes, before glaring again. "So what?"

Sasuke looked at the boy coldly, and then sighed. "Your brother is Sakura's boyfriend," he said, stating the obvious.

Masaru closed his hazel eyes, and his gaze wandered back to the photo. "I still don't understand what this has to do with me, Uchiha-san," he responded calmly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I might be able to use your assistance in winning her over."

The younger boy was quiet for awhile before he glanced around the corridor, noticing how many extra people were around—too many people to be having this kind of conversation around, anyway. "Come with me," commanded the boy softly, as he began to walk all the way to the end of the passage way where a door was. Sasuke followed him into the room where there were a bunch of chairs and a long table in the middle of them.

Sasuke rose an obsidian eyebrow. "Where are we?" he inquired, looking around.

"It's a sound proof council room," replied the boy as he closed the door behind him, and sat comfortably in a chair. "Have a seat," he insisted. His eyebrows furrowed. "You said something about assistance…what would you need my assistance for?"

A troubled look entered the Uchiha's eyes, and he sat down across from the boy, clasping his hands over the table. "Keeping your sister off my back at the least…" he answered, and then smirked. "I know you don't really have a standing on whether your brother is with Sakura or not." The Fukushima boy nodded.

"I'll think about it. But what's in it for me?"

Sasuke's smirk did not falter. He knew that he had the boy now. "If your brother marries within the clan, won't your clan allow you to as well?"

Bronze eyes widened before thinning. "I don't care either way," he countered defiantly, but Sasuke could see right through his lies.

The look in the Uchiha's eyes became more sinister, and then he closed them. "It's obvious by how many times you've turned down betrothals or set-ups with other clans, Masaru. You can't hide that from me," said Sasuke sternly.

Masaru's teeth gritted. "What if he chooses not to marry within the clan, anyway?"

Sasuke shrugged. "What if he does?"

The hazel eyed boy's eyebrows furrowed and he grunted quietly. "Whatever," he grumbled. "I really don't give a shit, so why not?"

Sasuke smirked. The door creaked and Kimiko poked her head in. "Oh, Sasuke-kun." She let herself into the room. "Here you are. I've been looking all over for you!" The girl feigned surprise and excitement.

The Uchiha scoffed. His annoying date was a horrible actress. He knew she had been trying to listen in on the whole thing. He stood up with a sigh. "I would offer you a seat, Kimiko, if this conversation weren't done with." Walking over to the brunette, he wrapped and arm around his date's and nodded towards the Fukushima.

The young boy groaned something that sounded a lot like a "whatever", and the onyx-haired boy walked out of the room.

Things would go just as planned. There were already two and a half people on his side (the half being Tenten, of course—he still couldn't tell which side she was on). The boy, though he acted as if he didn't care, was on his side, and so was Kimiko, who he was practically able to manipulate by now. He gazed at the girl—she was so much different now. Her usually perky eyes were glazed over with what seemed like hurt, and her seemingly never-ending smile was gone. Her face almost seemed pale, and her eyes (now that he noticed) were a little puffy. She had been crying, obviously.

The feeling of her hold on him tightening was enough to knock him out of his reverie, and he stared at the girl. She was frowning at the ground, and frustration covered her face. She was shaking involuntarily and finally, when her manicured nails had sunk themselves deep into his yukata, she let go of him swiftly.

"Sasuke," she half-yelled. "I like you! I like you a lot," Sasuke stood unfazed; this was no news to him anyway. "And until you like me back, I don't intend on giving up, do you understand?!" She was breathing hard when she finished, and Sasuke saw the determination swimming through the pools of blue that were her eyes.

The boy raised an eyebrow, and then smirked at the girl, which made her raise her own. "Hn," he chuckled. "Then it's a deal. Don't stop liking me, until I like you back."

It took awhile, but soon the girl smiled widely. "Glad you understand," she huffed as she grabbed his arm, and he continued to walk.

Yes, having the girl like him was definitely to his benefit and he would gladly accept everything she had to give.

In the distance a girl and boy seemed to be running at him and Sasuke sighed condescendingly once he noticed the pink head. She seemed angry.

The pinkette growled on the way up to him, pulling the Fukushima behind her. "Where have you been, Sasuke? Off causing havoc, I suppose!" she scolded icily.

Tadashi laughed at his girlfriend antics, and then waved the Uchiha's way. Sasuke nodded courteously towards him and kept walking.

"Sasuke, as soon as you get that poor girl home, you had better come straight back to my apartment," warned the medic with unsympathetic eyes as she held tightly to Tadashi.

"Hn," groaned Sasuke. He looked at the brunette next to him, how she leaned into his touch, and closed her eyes in ecstasy. She held on as if she never wanted to let go, and groaned into his arm, before sniffing in his scent. He frowned, wanting that brown head to magically turn itno pink, but then smirked. His cherry blossom would be holding him like this soon. _Tenten, you haven't failed me yet…_

Step forward: Sasuke finally had an (helpful) ally; steps back: Kimiko was in love with him, and she wasn't going to let go so easily.

* * *

**A/N: **Er…so it was an _okay_ chapter, and that might be pushing it…Well, that's what I thought of it. I would like to hear your opinions on it…erm…that's what you get when you force yourself to put something out a little too quickly, I guess…

Um...Kimiko's little confession...I'll admit I've been reading _a little_too much shojo manga lately...

Also, if you've noticed, I sometimes write Neji's clan name as "Hyuuga" and other times as "Hyuga"! Well, I've done a little research, and as you can see, I've decided to stick with "Hyuga"! Don't hesitate to remind me every once and awhile if you see me going back to my old ways…that goes for spelling errors and the like as well!

Review, plz! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	10. Crimson Nightmare

**A/N: **Hey, peeps! I have another chapter for you! I hope you all are having a nice summer! ENJOY!

_**PLEASE READ!!!:**_ Let me tell you a little something about reviews…

They are sacred to us writers, we want them more than ANYTHING you can possibly think of (other than cookies and bishies, but I digress…). Alerts and Favorites are sweet, really they are, but it's the same thing from _everyone_. It's like if it was your birthday, and everyone got you the same card from the same store. It's nice and you'll keep them, cuz it's the thought that counts, but it's not unique. I want to hear what all of you _individually_ would like to say to me about my story. I mean, I'm a joy to talk to, I think. I don't bite. I don't scratch. I'm a people person. So, please, reviews are like food, so feel free to feed the animals!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Naruto anime or manga, and I especially don't own the dialogue that I stole from the manga for this chapter. (You'll understand when you get there :))

Thx for the reviews, alerts, and faves!

* * *

Chapter 9: Crimson Nightmare

"Alright, now take a deep breath." The Uchiha closed his eyes at the soothing sound of her voice, and then did as he was told. Cold metal traced down his bare back, and then stopped.

"Again," came her gentle voice. Sasuke complied with her command and the metal moved once more. "And again." He took one more long inhale and exhale, and the cool metal left his back.

The pinkette sighed temperately, and then removed the stethoscope from her ear. "Alright." She moved an escaped lock of rosette-colored hair back into place. "Everything seems to be in working order. Is there anything else that you want to be looked at?" she asked, as she put all of her medical supplies away.

The sharingan-wielder shook his head as he shrugged his shirt back on. "No."

Sakura smirked. "Good. This surgery's not that big of a deal, anyway," she said, before walking to her room.

Sasuke frowned. "Hn." The Uchiha was going under the knife to try out a new serum that the pink-haired medic had come up with. It was a harmless procedure, actually, he wasn't even sure if there were going to be any knives involved. The antidote that Sakura had made would not damage him in any way, but at the same time they weren't sure if it was going to work, so either way, the boy would be safe and out of harm's way. The plan was to try it out, and if it worked, to make the antidote into a pill that he could take while Sakura tried to make an actual medical technique out of it. While the surgery and pills would work fine, he would have to have the surgery and take the pills multiple times to keep them working in his body. The technique, like the sealing technique for a curse seal, would only have to be done every once in awhile when there was a lot of strain on his eyes.

The boy scoffed. He only hoped it would work; Sasuke didn't want to be unconscious for a few days for nothing.

The onyx-eyed boy had laid down just when the doorbell rang, and Sasuke sighed, not wanting to get up for anything. Hello, he was a patient waiting for _surgery_; he should've been having the pink one bring him food and what not.

The Haruno opened her door, and stuck her head out to see that the boy was just sitting on the couch watching the wall, before rolling her eyes. "Asshole…" she mumbled grudgingly as she walked to the door and got up on her tiptoes to look out the peep hole.

He stifled a small chuckle, as he noticed how short she was. "Shrimp."

"Bite me," she growled through gritted teeth, glaring at him coldly.

He leered cynically, licking his lips. "With pleasure."

Sakura rolled her eyes, subduing her want to knock the boy's lights out, and opened the door. She smiled at the young lady at the door. "Masami-chan!"

Sasuke's smirk disappeared as he almost choked on his own spit. He coughed quietly, and then glared at the wall; he still hadn't looked at her—and thank Kami, if she saw his face now… What the hell was she doing here?

The young girl, who seemed to have read his mind, giggled happily, her eyes twinkling. "My mother was making pies for a dinner party, and made one extra. She wanted to know if you would like it!"

"Well, that was very kind of her," said Sakura sweetly. She grabbed the pie from Masami's hands and moved out of the doorway. "Please come in, Masami. I want you to help me eat some of this pie."

"If you insist, sensei," replied the Fukushima as she walked in, and slipped off her white flats.

Sakura huffed. "Oh, believe me, I do. There's no way I could eat all of this and Sasuke doesn't like sweets very much." Sakura walked to the counter and set the pie on the table, sniffing at it. "It smells delicious, Masami, I can't wait to eat it," she said and then looked at the boy. "Sasuke go with Masami out to the quad. We'll eat it out there. The pie's a little cold, so I'll warm it up a little, and get some plates and utensils."

Brown-red eyebrows knitted together. "Oh, no, sensei. Uchiha-san doesn't have to be bothered, especially if he doesn't like sweets. I can find my way just fine if that would be more convenient," offered the girl as she feigned innocence.

The boy's emotionless façade returned as he rolled his eyes, and finally turned around to look at the girl. He noticed how her eyes narrowed slightly at him while Sakura's back turned, and then shimmered sweetly when she turned around.

"No, no." The Haruno turned around and leaned on the kitchen counter, putting a hand on her hip. "Sasuke will go with you…won't you, Sasuke?" She raised a bubblegum-colored eyebrow, and stared at him with those hard teal eyes again.

The boy sighed. Did he even have a choice? He rose from his comfortable seat on the couch (it seemed like no one had a heart for the poor boy who would be in la-la land for the next few days) and walked to the door silently, hands in his pockets. He could feel Sakura's frosty eyes on him the whole way there, and then he walked past the Fukushima and out the door. "This way," he mumbled listlessly.

The Fukushima smiled at him. "Thank-you, Uchiha-san." As soon as she closed the door behind her, and turned her back to it, even Sasuke could feel her artful gaze and the wicked smirk on her face.

--

Once they had reached the quad and had sat down at a table with an umbrella over it, the girl's devious gaze was on him again as she pulled her long, flat-ironed hair over her shoulders. She crossed one of her legs, and smiled slyly at him; there was no need for her to play coy with him when he knew her ways already.

"So, how was the dinner for you last night, good I suppose," she said, striking up "pleasant" conversation.

Sasuke's impassive gaze did not falter. "It was bearable."

She giggled spitefully. "Really? I would've thought that you had so much more fun than that."

Sasuke rose and eyebrow. "Why?" he asked hesitantly.

Masami smirked at him craftily. "Your girlfriend's Hotaru Kimiko, right? Very impressive."

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. This back and forth thing between them was very irritating. "I do not share any kind of relationship with her, no," he answered, and her eyes thinned, her smirk still in play.

"Let's be serious here, Uchiha-san. If you're not with her, who else is going to want you?"

The Uchiha smirked deviously. "I think we both know the answer to that question."

Masami's stare hardened, and her emerald eyes, became an even darker, more sinister green, her lips thinning. Sakura came towards their table in the quad with a hand full of things, and let out a breath when she got there. The Fukushima instantly smiled at the pinkette, but then her cold gaze was back on the sharingan-wielder.

"Ok!" exclaimed the Haruno, as she set three plates on the table, put the pie in the middle, and another serving plate down too. "I know that you don't like sweets, Sasuke, so I brought you some miso. It's around 11:00, and I don't want you eating after 12:00 for your surgery."

Sasuke pulled his miso closer to him. Finally some proper service. "Hn," he grunted. "Thanks," the boy said quietly.

Sakura smiled and then placed her hands on her hips, moving a pink bang out of her glowing face. She then grimaced, letting out a groan. "Oh crap, drinks…" she moaned angrily, before looking up. "Ok, is everyone good with iced tea?" she asked, not giving anyone time to answer before she said, "Alright, iced tea it is. I'll be right back," and walking off.

The Fukushima finally got to the point, once the pinkette left. "What did you say to my brother, Uchiha-san?"

The Uchiha placidly rose an eyebrow the girl's way. How had she found out so quickly? He had not asked the boy to do anything yet. "Nothing that concerns you," he lied with a straight face on. "Is there a problem?"

Masami tried to calm herself down, and ended up clenching her fist around the fabric of her pretty, white dress. Her pouty lips turned upside down into a frown. "Your lies will not work on me, Uchiha-san," she said stubbornly, as she gave him a wary look. "Onii-san canceled a date he was going to surprise sensei with because Masaru asked to train with him all this week. Masaru never asks to train with onii-san, not since the tests we took in the academy." She crossed her arms. "I know you and Masaru are up to something, Uchiha-san, and I intend to find out what it is."

For a second, the Uchiha almost forgot that this was a _child_ he was talking to. It was getting quite ridiculous. "Hn," he replied softly. The sharingan-wielder had to wonder though: what were Masami's true motives for keeping Sakura and Tadashi together. It made enough sense that they were both precious to her, and she wanted them to be happy, but would anyone go this far? Just as he was going to question the girl on the topic, the medical jonin walked up to the table.

"Alright!" she exclaimed. "I think we have everything!"

She had no idea that she had just walked into a very tense atmosphere.

--

Sasuke watched the woman before him hurriedly walk around as she made preparations for the operation. He wanted to take her in one more time before he was knocked out for a couple of days. He smirked. She was so gorgeous, even in her fretful state.

The pinkette was not in a good mood at all. She had misplaced a utensil needed for the surgery, her assistant nurses had yet to show up, and she had to pee. Not a very good combination.

Anxious jade orbs were on him, as rosy lips thinned tersely. "What are you looking at?!" she snapped angrily, hands on her hips.

His smirk only grew. "You," he answered jokingly. She rolled her eyes, walking over to a drawer at the end of room, and shuffling through it quickly. "What if I don't wake up?" he asked, feigning worry so badly that even she knew. She shook her head. "Will you miss me?"

She tensed with her back towards him. _Barely even…_She wanted to say as she smiled to herself once she found the seemingly lost item that she had been searching for. She began walking towards the table next to his bed. "Don't be ridiculous, Sasuke," she berated sternly as she placed the surgical article down next to the other things that would be needed. "You're going to wake up. If anything seems to go wrong, I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you alive."

"Hn," he mumbled. "Can I have a kiss for good luck?" he asked calmly.

She glared his way. "You're an idiot if you think that I would _ever_ kiss you," she retorted, grabbing two rubber gloves from the tray of utensils on his bedside table. "I really do hate your new flirty attitude, you know." The medic pocketed the gloves in her white nurse's coat.

He smirked. "And I hate your new evil one," he jeered, gazing at the beautiful kunoichi. She looked down, biting her lip. He knew that look. "Your antidote's going to do fine." The pinkette's eyes widened, before her face softened a bit, though it was still strict, arms crossed tightly across her chest. "_It's going to work_," he said slowly, as to assure the girl.

She blinked, looking down before her jade gaze was on him. "Thanks," she whispered with a small grin. The girl hesitated and then cleared her throat, smile fading away clumsily as she walked over to him, hands in her pockets.

Sakura pulled up a chair next to him and sat in it. "Alright, Sasuke, it's almost time, so I need you to activate your sharingan."

He nodded, doing as he was told. Pain shot through his whole head this time, and he winced slightly. Suddenly, he felt a small, warm hand in his, and another on his forehead easing the pain, and making the throbbing subside. He opened his eyes once they didn't hurt him anymore, and looked at the girl's calm face. Her soothing, little hand left his forehead, and her lips replaced them, leaving a chaste kiss behind.

He rose an onyx eyebrow. "What happened to 'you're an idiot'?" asked the boy with a smirk.

She gave a smirk of her own, and pulled a pink lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm not a complete bitch, Sasuke, though I may claim to be." Sakura whipped her head around when the door opened and her late nurses appeared. She smiled again at Sasuke, and it was in his sleepy state that he noticed her hand was still in his. She gave it a comforting squeeze before standing up. "Sleep tight." He saw her leave his side before darkness reigned.

--

Darkness devoured him, fell all around him. It surrounded his whole being so that all of his senses were blocked off. He couldn't see, couldn't open his eyes, couldn't smell. He couldn't taste the emptiness that he figured was in the air, or hear the soundless barrenness, or feel the weightless air that caressed his body. _Where am I?_

Suddenly, all of his senses opened at once. He could see, smell, taste, hear, and feel _cherryblossoms_. The soft, pink petals fluttered over his eyes, tainted his skin with their spring scent. He felt comfort in the hold of these flowers, and then they faded away.

Once again, the Uchiha was left wondering where he was. He looked around, finally happy that his sight was working. He saw tall, green trees all around, and the soft chirping of birds reached his ears. It was obvious the boy was in a forest, but why? The clinging of metal reached his ears, and he looked up in surprise to see a black-haired man with his eyes closed in front of him. The Uchiha's eyes widened and his mind went blank. It couldn't be…oh, but it was. _Itachi…? _Sure enough, his elder brother was standing in front of him, alive and unharmed. Sasuke couldn't believe it. How? When he had killed him?

Sasuke didn't know whether to be happy that his innocent brother was standing in front of him unscathed and breathing, or to be angry because he was fucking _alive_. With eyes still the size of saucers, he stared at his brother. He was standing tall, eyes closed, and around four kunai in each hand. Though his eyes were closed, he knew that if they were open he would see the infamous pinwheel rotating within those depths.

He opened his dry mouth. "Itachi," he called, but his voice was hoarse from astonishment. He started running towards him. "Itachi," he shouted again, voice actually audible. "Itachi!" But it was all in vain, for neither his voice, nor his body could reach the older man. Sasuke paused. Why? Why couldn't he reach him, why did his voice not work?!

Suddenly, Itachi flipped into the air, doing magnificent turns and spins as the kunai left his fingers and hit targets that were placed out on the ground, trees, and various other objects. He had seen this technique, he had _done _it before. When Itachi finally hit the last target and then gracefully landed back on his feet, a gasp was heard.

Realization hit Sasuke as he found out where the voice had come from. "_Nii-san, you're so good! You even nailed the mark in a blind spot right in the middle!" exclaimed a young boy._ The boy had obsidian eyes with matching hair, and a huge surprised grin on his face. It was _him_! _The boy only continued. "Alright, here I go!" The younger Sasuke's face held determination._

"_Sasuke, let's head back." _

_The young boy pouted. "You told me that you'd teach me some new shuriken moves," he argued defiantly._

Because Itachi was always better than Father and Mother.

_Itachi sighed softly. "I have a crucial mission tomorrow and I've got to prepare for it," he replied coolly, eyes closing._

_Sasuke's pout only deepened. "Nii-san, you liar!" he shouted. Itachi's upturn of the lip indicated a smile and he reached his arm out, moving it in a way that gestured the younger Uchiha to come forward. Sasuke smiled, and ran at his brother, only to be flicked in the head when he got close enough. "Ow!" He rubbed his head._

_Itachi walked past him. "Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe another time."_

Sasuke frowned. His brother always did that to him: flicked him on the forehead and told him another time. That time never came.

_Sasuke gave an angered look his way, hand still massaging the spot that had gotten flicked, and then determination flickered through his onyx orbs. "Watch this, nii-san!" Trying to copy what his brother had recently done, he ran before jumping in the air and instantly falling. "Ow!" he shouted once more._

_"Hey," called Itachi as he walked over towards his brother._

The scene changed, and the Uchiha noticed his legs finally working. The scent of cherryblossoms came to the prodigy again, and he looked over to see that they were passing a sakura tree. The younger Sasuke was on Itachi's back and they were walking through the Uchiha complex. He slowly followed behind, not even thinking to try and run at his brother again to ask the many questions that were running through his head. He knew they couldn't see him, anyway.

_Sasuke smiled happily. "Why are you still grinning when you've just twisted your ankle, or are you just pretending to get an easy ride?" asked his brother jokingly._

Sasuke had forgotten Itachi ever knew how to joke. But as he looked at the scene before him, a thought hit him. All of those years of trying to avenge his clan, Sasuke had figured that this Itachi was fake, that he was actually evil. But now he knew that this Itachi standing before him was the genuine one. The one that cared about him.

_"No way," said Sasuke with a small chuckle. "I'm just glad that I'm a ninja academy student tomorrow! Now I'm slowly catching up to you, nii-san!"_

_Itachi smiled slightly. _

Sasuke noticed that they had been walking by the Police Force Headquarters that was run by the Uchiha, and had stopped for a moment to talk about something. Though it might have seemed like it (since most of his life he was bent on avenging his clan), The Police Force had never left Sasuke's mind. He hoped to start it back up once Konoha began to trust him again.

_Sasuke looked up at it from his spot on Itachi's back. "Are you going to join here too?"_

_Itachi had a thoughtful look on. "Hmm…Maybe," he replied._

_"You should!" insisted the younger boy. "When I grow up…I'll join the police force too. For tomorrow's entrance ceremony, my dad's going to come too…It'll be the first step to realizing my dream!"_

_"…Yeah…" said Itachi quietly. _

They had finally gotten close to their Uchiha Mansion when he noticed a tall, brown-haired man in front of him. He had piercing, black eyes that were blank and held no emotion and his face was contorted and wrinkled with stress. His shoulders were broad and strong, and he carried the air of any powerful Uchiha. His cheek-bones were high and he had the same lines down his face as Itachi. _Father…_Sasuke thought longingly.

_"You're late," scolded Fugaku as he looked at his two sons sternly. "What were you doing? I've got something to tell you. We have to hurry back," he finished._

_Itachi nodded. "Yes."_

_Once back in their home, they were all sitting in a room together._

_"That's my boy," said Fugaku with a smirk. "You've gotten this far in half a year since you've become a chunin. For tomorrow's special mission, I've decided to come along. If this mission is successful, your enlistment into ANBU will be official."_

_Itachi only stared at his father._

_Suddenly the sharingan began to rotate in Fugaku's eyes. "Do you understand?" he questioned threateningly. _

_"Don't worry about it too much…" replied Itachi as he smiled at his little brother. "However…" Itachi looked at his brother expectantly and Sasuke smiled sheepishly._

_"Erm…Dad…for tomorrow's—"_

_Sasuke was cut off as his father continued to talk. "Our mission tomorrow will become a very important event for our clan," he went on._

The Uchiha remembered that his father had never noticed him until he thought that Itachi's attitude towards his missions and his clan were going south.

_Sasuke made a downcast face and his elder brother looked at him with a sad smile._

"_I guess I'll drop tomorrow's mission," said Itachi calmly._

_Fugaku's eyes became livid. "What are you insane?!" he roared. "You know how crucial tomorrow is! What's going on with you?" he asked angrily._

_Itachi's gaze remained composed. "I'm going to Sasuke's entrance ceremony into the ninja academy."_

_Sasuke's eyes widened and then he cowered under his father's stare, but Fugaku's face only showed surprise. _

_Finally finding his courage, Sasuke gave a small smile. "The entrance ceremony usually requires one relative to come along…you've received the notice too, Father," he explained softly._

_Fugaku sighed, and stood from his spot on the mat. "I understand, I'll go to the academy," he relented as he left the room, Itachi in tow._

_"Hey, keep that left leg cooled down," said Itachi sweetly, giving his brother a smile._

_"Yeah…" muttered Sasuke._

It was then that Sasuke remembered how far away Itachi actually was from him. He was so much more advanced, so much stronger than he at that age. The scene changed again, and Sasuke guessed it had been a few weeks now. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow as he watched what was playing before him. He knew this one, for as a child the words that came from his father's mouth were always in the back of his mind.

The younger him was trying very hard to accomplish Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu. The first time he had done it in front of his father, it turned out to be a failure. He remembered how sad he was, how angry he was about not being anything like his prodigy of a brother.

_"Hmm…you haven't reached Itachi's level…maybe for you, it was still too early."_

Not knowing how hurtful those words were to Sasuke, his father had said them without remorse before walking away. Sasuke hated him for that, loathed him. He could and he would master that jutsu, just to show his father what he could do.

For several days, Sasuke remembered how hard he worked to get the jutsu down, and after awhile he got it. When he showed his father, he could still recall the proud look on his father's face when he said:

_"As I expected, you are my child. You did well. From now on, you may shamelessly wear the family crest on your back. You must now improve, and then you can soar great heights."_

_Sasuke was so happy. His face beamed happily for that was all he had ever wanted to hear from his father's mouth._

_Then, his father's face became solemn again. "Also, I will say one thing…do not follow your brother…"_

_The young Uchiha's face showed confusion. What was his father talking about? Of course he would follow Itachi. His one dream was to be just like him, after all. Sasuke did not fully understand that at that moment, his father was absolutely right._

The scene changed once more, and it was dark outside. The younger him was entering the Uchiha complex gates on his way home from the academy, a happy smile on his face. Sasuke paled. He definitely knew what this was, and the last thing he wanted to do was watch it. Even though he knew that Itachi had been assigned a mission to kill his clan, the paranoia that he went through as a kid was still fresh in his mind. His parents were _murdered._ His whole family was _slaughtered._

The Uchiha tried to shut his eyes, tried to look away, but couldn't.

_Sasuke thought that he had seen someone against the moon on a pole in the distance, but upon further inspection, he saw that it was probably just his imagination. He began running towards his home when he looked down, eyes wide. Lifeless corpses littered the open streets of the complex and he blanched. What the hell was going on?!_

_Sasuke ran to his home and busted through the first door. "Father, Mother!" he screeched as he went up some stairs. He came to another door, and he heard a voice behind it._

_"Sasuke…" it mumbled. "Don't come in…"_

_Sasuke opened the door regardless to see two more bloody corpses on the ground and his brother standing behind them. His eyes went wide and his mouth went dry. "MOTHER!" he cried. "FATHER! Brother," he said frantically looking at the prodigy. "Brother…Brother!! Father and Mother are…! Why?! Who the hell…this…"_

_Suddenly, shuriken swiped pass the younger boy's ear and into the wall behind him, one scraping his arm and causing Sasuke to fall to the ground._

_"Foolish little brother…" criticized the eldest as he opened his eyes to show the Mangekyou. Sasuke's eyes widened and he was stuck in his tracks. His body wouldn't move, and he felt so cold. His onyx gaze locked in with his brother's crimson one, and then a blood curdling scream was heard as Itachi showed him what he had done to his parents. _

_Once his yells had ended, Sasuke felt weak. His mouth stood ajar, letting saliva drip to the floor below him. "Why…did you…?" was all he could force out._

_"It was to measure my capacity," said Itachi easily._

_Sasuke felt sick. "To measure your capacity…?" he whimpered out feebly. "That's all…that's …the only reason…you killed everyone…for that…?"_

_Itachi shut his eyes. "It was essential."_

"_What…that's…" Sasuke shakily stood up, and then ran at his brother, determination and hurt running through his eyes. "Complete crap!" Sasuke ended up losing his footing and tripping right in front of his dead parents. Tears welled up in his eyes at the sight of his departed mother and father. Sasuke then realized how scared he actually was, as the tears ran tracks down his face and then landed on the floor boards._

Suddenly they were outside. Sasuke had had enough. He was really more angry than sad. He wanted to punch something, to hurt someone. He did not want to see this. Why?! When he thought he had finally gotten over the phase in his life when these nightmares attacked him in his sleep. Itachi was _dead_, he had _defeated_ him.

Sasuke began to wonder why these thoughts and feelings had begun to well up in him so quickly. He knew that this was a mission, that Itachi was never happy to do this to his family and clan. Sasuke calmed; it was almost over. This day would mark the last time he would ever have to see or think about this horrible time in his life.

_Sasuke stood from the cold, concrete ground. "Yes…" he sobbed. "You can't be my brother…because…" he traveled off unconfidently, tears still making a wet trail down his face._

_"The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this…"_

Sasuke had to remind himself once again to not believe the words that left Itachi's mouth.

_"…to ascertain your "capacity"…I continued acting as the elder brother you desired, and I became your companion to see if that potential is hidden. You found me disagreeable and hated me. You continued wanting to surpass me, because of that, I will let you live...for my sake." Sasuke's eyes widened. "You can awaken the same Mangekyou sharingan as me. However, there is a requirement. You must kill your closest friend."_

_Sasuke was so confused and surprised. Kill his closest friend? Why?!_

_Itachi continued. "In order to be like me…"_

_"Um…nii-san…did you kill Shisui-san?" asked Sasuke meekly._

_Itachi nodded. "Thanks to him, I was able to obtain this "eye"," he answered. Sasuke vaguely remembered Itachi's bond with Shisui. They were like brothers. He imprecisely heard Itachi say something about the Nakano Shrine when he tuned in again. "The real secret is written there. If you open your eyes to the truth…including myself there will be three people who can hand the Mangekyou sharingan," he enlightened with a smirk gracing his features. "In that case, there would be a reason to let you live right now."_

_Shock settled on Sasuke's countenance, and the tears kept coming._

"_It would be worthless to kill someone like you…my foolish little brother…if you want to kill me…curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life…run away…run away and cling to your pitiful life," he ordered harshly, eyes closing._

_Sasuke began to cry harder this time, as sweat ran down his small face._

_Itachi's eyes opened again, and in them was the Mangekyou once more. "And some day, when you have the same "eyes" as me, come before me." Sasuke's eyes widened as he was knocked out._

The Uchiha somehow felt his own self falling to the ground as well. He teetered, trying to keep himself standing, but couldn't for long as his eyes got droopy and he was pulled to his knees. He did not feel the contact of the ground as a single cherryblossom fluttered past him, and then another and another, as he was once again cradled by millions of them. They caressed him, rocking him back and forth in his half-asleep state when suddenly they disappeared, and a he was once again in a shroud of darkness.

He was just standing there, looking down into a puddle of his own tears, eyes blank and half-lidded. Funny; he didn't remember ever crying. Another crystal clear tear dropped into the puddle making it ripple and his eyes widened. He now seemed to be in the younger Sasuke's body, feeling and seeing the same things he felt and saw at that age. He crumpled to the ground again, sobbing as his heart clenched, memories of what had just happened reentering his brain.

_Why?! _He asked himself. _Why, nii-san?!_

The sound of his tears splashing into the puddle reverberated in the empty darkness, sending echoes all around him. He whimpered once more before looking up, eyes puffy and red. A small shadow moved in front of him in the distance, and he focused his eyes on it. It looked like it was a person.

Sasuke stood up and began running as hard and far as his little legs could take him. He had forgotten how slow he was when he was an academy student. As he began to get closer, he noticed long black hair on the person, and that he or she was wearing a kimono. The person's back was turned to him. The scent of the kitchen hit him directly in the face and he instantly knew who it was.

"Mother!" he shouted, a smile breaking out on his face. "Mother!" The person turned around and gave Sasuke a smile as he reached out his hand to grab her, to embrace her. Suddenly, the sound of a sword slashing through flesh was heard, and his mother fell to the ground with a sharp cry. Blood splattered all over the black ground and all over him and tears rolled down his face for the umpteenth time that day. "No!" he screamed. "Mother!" He backed away, whimpering noises slipping through his lips as he saw another shadow in the distance. Once again, this person's back was turned.

He began running at it again, and let out a shallow breath when he noticed the Uchiha emblem on the back of the person's robe, and the chin length brown hair. "Father!" he called. He had to warn him about what killed Mother. He didn't know what it was, but he just had to warn him. "Father, watch out!" No sooner had those words left his mouth that a sword slashed through his father's body.

Sasuke grabbed onto the sides of his hair and shook his head, eyes bleary and clogged up with tears. _No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! _He chanted in his head. _This is not happening again! _He looked up once more to see another person a little ways away. This person's back was turned as well, and he had a short onyx ponytail.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "ITACHI!!" he screeched. His tired legs began to move towards his brother again. He wouldn't lose Itachi again, he refused. Sasuke put all his strength into running towards his brother. "Nii-san, move! Run while you still can!" This time, a chuckle was heard coming from Itachi's mouth, and he turned a little so that Sasuke could see his smile.

"Sasuke…" he mouthed before the sword slashed through him as well.

Sasuke looked down at his injured brother. "NOOOO!!!" he shouted, his voice once again going hoarse from his endless screams. How did this happen?! There was just no way that…_Itachi _was dead! He was too powerful! What kind of monster was there that could defeat his older brother.

The last Uchiha looked up into a crimson gaze and his jaw dropped. His palms became sweaty, and his eyes wide and glazed over. His knees became weak, and he fell to them helplessly. What was this?

Sasuke was kneeling before a person with the sharingan. Who could this be? This was the person that killed Itachi? His voice caught in his throat, and his breathing began to shallow. All that could be seen of this person was an outline (so that he didn't know whether it was a man or woman), and those _eyes_. He couldn't look away from them. They dug into his soul and brought forth fear, terror, _dread_. How could one's eyes be so _powerful_, so terrifying? They felt like a weight on him, daring him to get to his feet and run, daring him to move.

The young boy was finally able to look down the silhouette of the person to see the sword that had torn through his family members. Blood coated the magnificent blade as it dripped to the ground and around his lifeless brother.

Tears began to well up in his eyes again. Was this person going to kill him too? Give him the same fate as he did his family?

Sasuke looked down as a shaky breath left his mouth. He had to…he had to get out of here, away from this person!

The Uchiha closed his eyes before finally getting the nerve to get up and bolt. He ran as fast his tired legs would let him, his breathing ragged and labored. He just closed his eyes and ran, not caring where he was going, not knowing (or wanting to know) if the frightening person was running after him.

Then he opened his eyes and looked forward. In front of him, he noticed a bright, golden light and subconsciously began making his way towards it. He wondered what it was, and if it was safe to go near.

As he got closer he noticed that there was a person that was emitting that golden glow and that it was a lithe figure, a woman in a long golden kimono with pink flowers all over it. The goddess-like woman had long, rosette locks that trailed down her body like waterfalls and clear, sea foam colored eyes. She hovered over the ground like the angel that she was, and her full pink lips held a smile. _Sakura…_

He paused once he got in front of her and looked up at the beautiful creature above him. He knew that she was tiny and soft to the touch, but when she floated above him like that she seemed so big and powerful.

"Sasuke…" she whispered softly, but her gorgeous voice seemed to echo throughout the darkness, and calm his senses. She reached out with her long, pale fingers and wiped the tears (new an old) from his face and then smiled again, pulling him into a hug. "Sasuke…" she said again. "I love you."

Sasuke smiled and closed his eyes, melting into the girl's tender embrace, the horrible person that had killed his family forgotten. And, oh, did she smell wonderful. Like ripened cherries, and springtime. Her body was so warm, and comforting, not at all like the darkened abyss he had just been in and everything around her seemed to become light. Her affectionate gaze drove him wild, and he hugged her back, not wanting to ever let go.

"I'll never leave you, Sasuke-kun. I've loved you always, and I'll love you forever."

_I love you, too, _he wanted to say. But he was just so tired. His eyes began to flutter close when he thought about it, everything that this woman had just said to him was not…was not like _his _Sakura, at all.

His eyes popped open and he looked at the grinning girl that had wrapped her arms around him. This was not his Sakura. His Sakura barely smiled at him, and never hugged him. His Sakura smelled like raspberries, not _cliché _sakura blossoms, and was never affectionate towards him. And his Sakura _definitely never_ called him _Sasuke-kun_!

He wanted this to be his Sakura though. Wanted Sakura to be warm and affectionate towards him. He needed her, wanted to be with her forever. Sasuke guessed that if he wanted change, he had to change himself, even though he was totally against it. His brother had once said something to him.

_"True change cannot be made if it is bound by laws and limitations, predictions and imaginations."_

Sasuke reluctantly plucked himself out of the woman's hold. He wanted to see his Sakura. This wasn't his Sakura, but he could try and change his to this through changing himself. He lay out on the ground, beginning to feel drowsy again. He had something he wanted to tell her and he knew it couldn't wait. His eyes closed as he left the fairytale Sakura behind and drifted off…

--

Sasuke's eyes opened to slits, as light filtered into them. He tried to open them all the way, but he couldn't. Figuring that he was still heavily drugged, and that it would probably be at least another day before he was truly conscious, he tried his best to get his vision to work. He had to tell Sakura something and soon; it just couldn't wait. He saw a white nurse's uniform, and though it was bleary, he saw the color pink above it.

"Sa…ku…ra…" he mouthed, but his voice was once again not working. He understood that it was probably because he had been out for a couple of days now. "Saku…ra," he mouthed again, this time with a little air exiting his mouth so that the smallest whisper could be heard if you were close enough. The medic was of course not, and upon further inspection he noticed her back was turned. _Dammit! _He thought.

He had to hurry; he knew that he would be unconscious in a matter of seconds, but he tried his best to fight it off. He attempted to reach out and grab the girl's sleeve, but his arms wouldn't move. None of him would.

He began to breathe heavily as he forced his eyes to stay open. He was quickly falling back asleep. "Sakura," he muttered this time, putting all his strength into it.

Sakura quickly turned around, and her teal gaze grew big. She came closer to him, panic (though miniscule) apparent on her face. "Sasuke…?" she questioned slowly. "Why are you awake, what is—"

Sasuke cut her off. "Happy…birth…day…" he forced out gruffly. He strained a small smile and caught a glimpse of her raising an eyebrow before he was out like a light.

Step forward: Sasuke had been able to say happy birthday to his blossom; steps back: he would still be out for said birthday, and Sakura had a long way to go if she was going to be anything like the goddess in his visions.

--

**A/N: **Whoowee, that was a long chapter! Geez, and it took me forever to write because I was so proud of myself getting half way through at one time and then I didn't save it right or something! There were tears. But, hey, here we are now!!! I'm hoping to get some love and reviews for this chapter, it wasn't that hard to write since a lot of that dialogue was from the manga, but it still took quite a bit of time. Try all of today and most of the rest of the week! Well anyways, I won't bore you with my problems…

Some of you were worried that Sakura was being a bitch. Well she was, and as you can see, it's getting better…it'll get MUCH better soon! I PROMISE!! And then there will be more sasuxsaku goodness for you!

Has anyone seen Transformers yet? AVATAR 2010! WOOH!!!

Plz review! Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	11. Parties and Confessions

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! I've got another chapter for you guys! I think you'll like it; it was definitely a lot of fun to write and it's** EXTRA LONG**! This chapter's more centered on Sakura's POV at parts, but don't worry, there will be some Sasuxsaku in this chapter and A LOT in the next! SO, READ UP!!!

_**PLEASE READ!!!:**_** Well, well! My little PLEASE READ sign actually worked in the last chapter, so I think I'll do it again! Same rules apply as the last time! Faves and alerts are much appreciated, but the reviews are really a lot more helpful. SOME OF YOU (I will not name) thought it would be cool to disregard this message. Well, it wasn't cool. And you **_**know **_**who you are. So I guess you guys won't get cookeez –sigh- As for:**

**MYinnerNinja**

**Cueil**

**SexySakrua69**

**theduckoverthere**

**Desperate Fool**

**LilyVampire**

**And insaneanimelover**

**Bravo! You're all literate! Cookies for you! Thank-you so much for your reviews, I know you did it out of the goodness of your sweet, little hearts XD Thanks to those who faved and alerted too, though. There is still a special place for all of you in my heart O.o**

Anyways, on to the chapter (:

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto and/or LoveGame. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto and Lady Gaga!

* * *

Chapter 10: Parties and Confessions

He moaned softly, as his eyes opened, only to pinch back together once the light entered them. Slowly letting one eye peek open again, he moved his head over to the side to see the darkened profile of a woman. As his eyes began to work a little more, he realized that the woman's hair was dark-colored, not the light, fluffy pink he had hoped.

Sasuke willed his eyelids to unlock all the way with another groan. Warm brown eyes looked at him worriedly, and chocolate eyebrows furrowed.

"Sasuke…?" whispered a familiar voice tentatively, the woman scooting forward in her chair.

"Ugh…" Sasuke grunted as he shut his eyes and then opened them again. "Tenten?" he said groggily. Sasuke's eyes began to focus, and he saw the girl give a relieved smile and then sigh. "Why are you here?" he asked rudely, a little peeved that Sakura wasn't here instead.

Tenten caught his drift, and raised and eyebrow, smile still on her face. "What, as opposed to Sakura?" she laughed. "She had to go train with her team. You didn't expect her to wait all that time in here, did you?"

He frowned slightly, looking away from the girl. He had hoped he could.

"As for me, I just thought you might've needed a friend." She smiled that inviting, friendly smile again, and he gave her the best 'thank-you' face an Uchiha could. Her face lit up. "Do you need a nurse? Is anything hurting?" she questioned, laying a comforting hand on him as her eyes searched his.

"Ah…" It was so hard for him to form words; he hadn't done so in what seemed like ages. "No," he answered. "I'm fine." Suddenly, something hit him, and he quirked an onyx eyebrow. "Tenten, how long have I been out?"

She bit her lip in thought and then shrugged. "I don't know, a few days maybe." She looked at him questioningly.

He shook his head. "No. Since Sakura's birthday," he tried.

"Oh, that?" asked Tenten with a giggle. "Two days." If Sasuke weren't an Uchiha, he would've paled. "But, the big birthday bash that Ino planed for her is tonight. Looks like you lucked out."

Sasuke let a small breath out as he calmed. "So how did the procedure go?" asked Sasuke.

Tenten had a playful look in her eye. "Well, how do your eyes feel? You said it yourself that you feel fine," she said teasingly.

Sasuke gave the girl a wary look before looking over to the window to see the slight reflection of the sharingan staring back at him. He lay back in his pillow with a smirk. "I told her that it would work," he stated boastingly.

"I guess you're right," Tenten chuckled. She narrowed her eyes jokingly. "You know you just woke up from a surgery. Do you think Sakura's going to deem you well enough to let you go to her party? I mean, you could get hurt…"

Sasuke's smirk did not falter. "How much do you want to bet that she won't even care?"

--

After many negotiations on Sasuke's part, and much begging on Tenten's, Sakura had finally consented to Sasuke being able to come to the party. Tenten almost cried tears of joy as she hugged the pinkette, while said pinkette rolled her eyes and told Sasuke he might as well invite Kimiko. With a smug smirk on, Sasuke did just as he was told.

At the moment, they were at Tenten and Neji's modern, two-story home just outside the Hyuga complex. It was a very nice home with a huge backyard that accommodated a pool and pool house. Neji and Tenten had decided to live outside of the Hyuga household once they tied the knot because really, Neji had no obligation to stay in the complex and it would have been a little awkward. Since Neji wasn't a part of the Head House, he did not have to commit to staying in the house to lead the family like Hanabi did. Besides, the only reason people of the Branch Family ever stayed was because they married those in their clan. Neji didn't want it being an awkward situation for Tenten, someone who only knew him and Hinata.

Some Branch family members stayed because they felt it was their job to take care of the Head Family, which it was, but Neji felt he could do that just fine in his own home, not even a mile from the complex. Neji never really liked his Uncle, anyway, and over the years his cold eyes towards him had only lessened because they had been narrowed at a new corporate lately. Naruto.

At times, Neji felt bad for Naruto because if he ever decided to marry Hinata (or if her father would ever allow it), he would have to live in the Head House with her. As the heir to the clan's sister, Hinata had to stay there. At least it wasn't him was all Neji could think.

Right now, they were waiting for the girls to get ready for Sakura's birthday party. They had been in the washroom for a long time now. Too long. It was now 7:45, the time they agreed to be at the club that was hosting Sakura's party and Sasuke could still hear the shower going. At this rate, they wouldn't get there until around 10:00 at the earliest.

The people that were waiting were Neji, Naruto, him, and Kiba. The chicks hogging the bathroom: Sakura, Tenten, Ino, and Hinata.

Surprisingly, Neji was a little less patient than the rest. The Hyuga pounded on the restroom door angrily.

"Tenten, would it be too much to ask that I be able to use my own bathroom?" he asked through the door.

"There are other bathrooms in the house, Neji! You don't _have_ to use this one!" shouted Tenten, her voice clearly heard over the hair blowers, shower, and girl chatter going on in the huge bathroom.

Neji sighed, rubbing his temples slowly. "Can you at least get my watch for me?" he questioned. "The silver one."

A hand reached out of the door and chucked an expensive looking watch at the Hyuga and then shut right behind him. "Don't you guys have something better to do than stand out of the bathroom door and nag us? Why don't you guys go play pool or something?" requested the sporty brunette.

"Fine, we're leaving," answered Neji as they all filed out of the master bedroom. The men then made a b-line to the kitchen while Kiba went and turned on the large TV in the great room.

Naruto raided the fridge, and then popped out with a mouth full of food, passing beers to the men in the kitchen. "Oi…I wonder what ladies do when they take showers together?" He waggled his eyebrows, trying his best to be seductive and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "A little girl on girl action wouldn't be too bad…"

Kiba, who had returned with the rest of them in the kitchen, chuckled to himself, hitting Naruto playfully on the shoulder, and Neji scowled, holding in the urge to kill the blonde. Sasuke was totally silent, face as impassive as always.

"The thought of the woman I married being a lesbian is unsettling," spoke the Hyuga through gritted teeth.

Sensing the brunette's anger, Naruto just laughed. "Chill, dude, I was only kidding. The last thing I want is for Hinata to tell me she's no longer interested in men." He stuffed some more food into his mouth, spilling some of it on the granite counters. Neji's insides boiled…his beautiful, clean granite was being destroyed by this idiot.

Suddenly, Tenten emerged from the master bedroom and walked into the kitchen, a tooth brush in her mouth and a towel covering her body and hair.

She scrubbed her pearly whites. "Hey," she greeted as she walked over to the fridge.

"Hey," acknowledged Naruto with a quirked up eyebrow. "You're just getting out of the shower?"

Tenten smiled at them. "Yup!" she said before ducking her head back into the fridge.

"Do you intend to spend all day in that bathroom? Kimiko should be here in the next few minutes," complained Sasuke as he looked at his watch. The last thing he wanted to do was have to _entertain_ that girl. Not that he would, but she would expect him to.

Tenten stood out of the fridge, putting her free hand (that wasn't holding her toothbrush) on her hip. "Oh _wah_, _wah_, what will little Sasuke _ever _do with himself if his airhead girlfriend has to wait five minutes," mocked the irritated brunette as she waved her toothbrush around causing Naruto to flinch away, as he was closest. "God, cry me a fucking river…" she mumbled as she looked back in the fridge.

Sasuke crossed his arms and snorted snidely at Tenten's childishness.

"It was worth a try," whispered the Inuzuka to the Uchiha, a teasing sympathetic look on his face.

Neji gave his wife a skeptical look. "Tenten, you're brushing your teeth. Why are you trying to eat?"

"Because I'm hungry, Neji!" shot back the weapons mistress, as she continued to shuffle through the contents of the fridge. She growled to herself. "Dammit…" she muttered. "Babe, where's the ham?"

Neji sighed and put his hands in his pockets, closing his alabaster eyes. "To your right, towards the back," he answered.

"Ooh, thanks!" exclaimed Tenten as she grabbed a huge plate from the back of the fridge and closed it walking back to the master bedroom. "Maybe I'll come back for the pie leftovers later!" Naruto gawked at the Hyuga.

"Dude, we're going to be late and you're allowing your wife to have a _full course meal?!" _

Neji shrugged. "It's no use."

"Hey, besides, aren't you guys expecting?" asked Kiba calmly. Neji nodded and Naruto's jaw dropped.

"You guys are _expecting?!_" questioned Naruto, close to hysterics. "Wait, how do _you_ know, dog boy?!"

"Hinata told me."

"And she didn't tell _me?!_ What is this!?"

"Keep it down, dobe," snapped Sasuke. He was just as surprised as Naruto was, but there was no need to raise their voices. Especially around girl's as irritable as Tenten was right now, and would be for the next nine months.

--

The women had finally emerged from the master bedroom around 9:00 and they were all on their way to the club. The club wasn't a far walk from the Hyuga household, maybe around five or ten minutes, which made the girls in their super high heels very happy—so happy they already seemed drunk. Sasuke smirked at Sakura. She was holding hands with Ino whose Kiba's arm was around. She seemed so very excited, and looked gorgeous in her golden, sequined mini dress. Her hair was in a curly ponytail and her feet were in sexiest black heels Sasuke had ever seen (so _high_).

The Uchiha looked to his arm. Kimiko was attached on to it, and she showed no signs of ever letting go. He had to admit, Kimiko did look very hot tonight, but he only had eyes for Sakura. Not the perfect Sakura that he had craved and seen in his dream, but the one standing before him. The one he _needed_. She was a fresh drink of water to him and while he usually thought the little game of "playing hard to get" was useless, he quite enjoyed it with Sakura. He liked having a challenge.

Sakura was having her party at a club named _Tsubaki's_, a very hard club to get into. The place was known for having the best drinks and music in all of Konoha (and most of the little towns around it), and for being the most expensive club to have hosting your parties. Of course, for the two infamous bachelorettes of Konoha, getting in wasn't a problem at all. They had connections. Apparently, the two had dated the owners sons for awhile (Ino the eldest, and Sakura the youngest), and still in love with the two girls after they were dumped, they couldn't say no to an almost free of charge party for the pinkette.

As they got closer to the club, they all noticed a barred off long line for entering into it. The seven of them walked around the line, not even going to the end of it like others were supposed to and began making their way to the club doors. Many in the lines turned to look at the pinkette, knowing she was their ticket into the club and out of the long waiting line. Most of them knew that standing in the line was useless, they would only let in a few at the beginning of the line, because the party was mostly restricted to those that Ino had planned to invite, and others Sakura knew.

People screamed her name, trying to reach for her and Sakura gave them all apologetic faces, saying sorry as many times as she could, but trying her best not to look at their faces. Then four familiar voices were heard over the large crowd.

"Sakura!" they called. "Sakura-chan!"

The woman looked over and smiled at the four tokubetsu jonin who stood there. It was true that Izumo, Kotetsu, Raidou, and Genma all looked foolish and unprofessional screaming the name of the Hokage's apprentice while pushing people out of the way in the line, but all Sakura could do was laugh.

Genma winked at her when finally the only thing between the two groups was the long rope that barred of the people from the outside world. Sakura would've given him a playful look back, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy around the man. She once used to have a thing for the special jonin, and it soon turned into a few one-night stands. Ino could testify that after the two's fling died down, things got a little awkward because Ino had also given a shot at love with the man—or lust, Ino always said she was too young for such a thing. Even for the less-than-modest Ino things got uncomfortable around the two for awhile, but that ended quickly.

Ino was now hugging the older brunette man over the rope and chatting with him, her hand still clasped around the Inuzuka's. Sakura smiled. She could tell after her best friends little complication with Shikamaru, she was really working on how she held herself in relationships. She really wanted to be serious with Kiba. Sakura didn't know how that would work out only because Kiba was a well known player himself. The pinkette knew that he was kind, loving, and loyal towards his friends, but she wasn't completely sure of all of his motives. She would have to have a talk with Hinata later.

"Where are your invites?" asked Naruto with a smirk. "You're so screwed without them! There's no way you're getting in!" He then proceeded to laugh in their faces.

Raidou glared at the Kyuubi-container. "It's not like we didn't _receive_ any," he said turning his heated stare Izumo's way.

"Kami, I said _sorry_!" he exclaimed with a sheepish grin.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You misplaced all of them?"

"All of them."

"Come on…" she sighed as she lifted the rope and the four of them filed out under it. The Haruno rolled her eyes. "Quickly…" she muttered through gritted teeth as she received glares from the people still behind the rope.

She closed her eyes as she let out a long breath, as the three of them (all except for Izumo, who was still looking guilty) bombarded her little frame with hugs. They were innocent hugs, but suffocating nonetheless.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan, I promise we'll _never_ leave Izumo-baka with anything important ever again," whispered Kotetsu as he tightened his grip on her. Sasuke didn't have to try too hard to stay calm; he knew they didn't think of the girl as anything more than a friend. He noticed how they treated her like she was something they were supposed to protect, like they were her older brothers. They weren't anymore harmless than Naruto.

Sakura giggled and draped her arms over their tall shoulders. "Alright, that's a good idea."

When they let go, Izumo came in for a hug, puppy dog eyes in play. "I'm sorry, Saku-chan. It was an accident." He smirked at her. "I swear it."

She bit her lip. "Mmm…it's a tough call, but I believe you," she joked. "Let's head in, everybody."

Once they got to the entrance, they were instantly let in to the club. The place looked amazing on the inside. It was dark, but not too dark where you couldn't see. A dark blue light illuminated the club giving it a mysterious feel, and the music was so loud, they couldn't tell what it was at first. A huge dance floor covered most of the area to their right with a stage over to the edge of it where the DJ was. The long and luxurious looking bar way over to the left, and there were many booths and tables scattered in front, to the sides, and back of it. A little way's in front of them was a staircase which lead to the upstairs where there were other tables and rooms (most likely private onces) and a railing all around the area so those that were up there could look over it and see the stage and people below like a balcony.

Ino tried her best to scream over the crowd as she brought everyone closer in. "If everyone stays together, I think I can get us V.I.P bracelets for a private room and seating!" she shouted. "Does everyone understand?" They all nodded, and Ino left in search for the person to give them bracelets.

They all chatted for awhile before the blonde returned with two men trailing behind her. Sakura smiled once she saw who they were.

"Yuudai!" she exclaimed. "Ryou, how are you guys?" she asked as she invited both of them into a hug, lingering on the one who was named Ryou. Sasuke didn't like the way Ryou was caressing the girl, but held back his anger by clenching his hands in his pockets.

"Fine, and you, birthday girl?" questioned Ryou as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Good, now that I've seen you. It's been so long." Sasuke couldn't hear most of the conversation after that, but then the blonde and pinkette turned to the group.

"Everyone, this is Yuudai and Ryou. They're the sons of the owner of this place," Ino introduced and then smirked. "And our ex's. Yuudai, Ryou this is everyone!"

They all exchanged pleasant 'hello's. "It's nice to meet all of you," said Ryou with a huge smile. Why were all the men Sakura dated so _happy _all the time? Sasuke almost blanched. Ryou turned to Sakura. "Save me a dance later?"

She giggled. "I'll think about it." She held out her hand. "Passes?"

He dug in his pocket, pulling out a bunch of black bracelets. "You're something," he said, shaking his head. "I already gave the rest to the other ones that you invited that showed up a bit earlier."

"Thank-you," she said before he kissed her on the forehead, said goodbye to everyone, and walked away with his older brother.

Sakura was happy. Ryou was one of the few ex-boyfriends she was actually close to. She was mostly civil with everyone, but Ryou would always be a really close friend. She turned around and handed out all the passes to everyone.

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto as he through his hands up. "I'm so pumped! You want to dance, Hinata?" offered the boy as he grabbed the blushing girl's hand and pulled her off to the dance floor without her answering first.

Sakura heard giggling to her left, only to see Kiba whispering in Ino's ear before she winked and took him away. The pinkette rolled her eyes, not even wanting to know what Pig and dog boy were up to. She turned around seeing that the four tokubetsu had scurried off to Lord knows where awhile ago.

"Oh my God, Sasuke, I love this song!" exclaimed Kimiko as she tugged on the boys arm. "Come dance with me." She provocatively started dancing against the boy, only to have him stare at her intently, but most didn't miss the pleading look in his eye.

"I understand your predicament," mumbled Neji to the sharingan-wielder. "You want to grab a beer, Uchiha?" he asked.

"Aa," replied the onyx-haired boy as he began to walk away from the girl's left.

"I'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out, babe," whispered the Hyuga before pecking his wife's nose. Sasuke had almost forgotten that Tenten was pregnant.

She giggled. "I'll be okay," she said sweetly and then grabbed Sakura and Kimiko's arms. "I've got my girl's, and that's all I'll need!"

Neji rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, right." He walked towards the bar with Sasuke. "You two make sure she doesn't sneak anything."

The girls laughed and then Sakura replied, "Cross my heart, hope to die!"

The apprentice of the Hokage vaguely heard the future mother next her mutter something along the lines of "He knows me too damn well…" before she began to pout.

Kimiko's eyes were still on the retreating back of the Uchiha, though. Sakura felt bad for her. She was almost sure that Kimiko knew that Sasuke didn't really like her at all. Even Sakura knew he was using Kimiko. _And it's working…_

Sakura mentally slapped herself. It was _not _working! She didn't love that bastard! She'd rather die before ever having to revive his clan with him. Sakura bit her lip, tuning out Tenten's pleads to dance with her. If she didn't go along with the mission, though, she might just get what she wished. Who knew what would happen to the shinobi world if Uchiha Sasuke wasn't on their side, who knew what would happen to…to Naruto…

She didn't even want to think about it…There just _had_ to be some other way to make peace with him if he didn't get his way. Before he came, she really thought she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Tadashi (though she knew this mission was inevitable if he ever did decide to return), but she wasn't so sure that would happen now. She wondered if she could—

Hold on one damn second! This was her _birthday_! All this awesome shit going on in this club was for _her _and she was sitting around thinking about her job! She would enjoy this night if it killed her; it wasn't everyday that everything was about Sakura after all.

She finally began to listen to Tenten and smiled at the girl, giving her a small "sorry". No sooner had she said that that her and Kimiko were being dragged into the crowd by the weapon's mistress and started dancing, Sakura saying "hi" and chatting with the people she knew (which was practically everybody, since the party was customized for her anyway).

Sakura listened to the beat, and let it guide her along the dance floor. She let it reverberate in her body as the pounding beat enveloped her. She closed her eyes and danced against somebody that had grabbed her hips only to have the person lean into her body and grind in to her. With a smirk on her face, she began to enjoy the feeling and started grinding back.

The person's hands roamed her hips, and firmly pressed against them. She rose up her arms and wrapped the around the person's neck comfortably. The beat got heavier and their grinds got faster and faster, the sensation of the man's touch and breath against her neck driving her wild. Everything about him felt so familiar, his scent covering her, and the thought of being on a mission left her mind.

By the time the song ended and another one started, Sakura was breathing hard. It seemed that dancing to a beat for three minutes was much harder than fighting for your life in a battle for three hours. She noticed both Kimiko and Tenten were long gone, Kimiko probably trying to get Sasuke to dance and Tenten probably causing a ruckus. As cool and calm Tenten was when compared to most of the other girl's, she was probably second best to Ino in partying, and even being married to Hyuga Neji couldn't stop that.

"Nice dancing, birthday girl. You don't have two left feet, after all."

Sakura's eyes opened slowly, her arms still daintily around the man's neck. "Mmm, Tadashi, I knew it was you all along," she murmured over the music. "And who said anything about two left feet?" she asked, a little disgruntled that anyone would say that about her.

His fingers made circle's in the fabric of her dress as he chuckled against the base of her neck sending shivers up her spine. "You did? Percentage." She noticed he was going to leave the 'two-left-feet' thing out, and she decided to let it go too.

"Oh, about seventy."

"That makes me nervous about the other thirty percent," he said jokingly, as he began to grind to beat of the song that was on now. "You wouldn't dance like that for just anyone, would you?" He licked the tip of her ear and began to nibble at it, erecting a small moan for the girl.

"You know I would." Her teal gaze was on him as she turned to face him. She gave him a playful grin, as she twirled her fingers in his hair from the spot around his neck. "Would you be angry?"

He shook his head as his hands once again wandered her hips, landing on the small of her back as he pulled her closer, sniffing in her mesmerizing scent of raspberries. "No, it's your day, birthday girl. You can have and do whatever you want."

She leaned closer to him, liking the feeling of not having to stand on her tip-toes to reach his lips with her own (ah, the wonders of stilettos). "Whatever I want?" she asked huskily. She heard a loud, microphone-ed voice over everyone in the crowd and then saw a huge light but decided to ignore it.

"Whatever you want…" he assured as his lips fluttered pass her own.

Suddenly, a huge spotlight was on them and she put her arm up to cover her face as she squinted her eyes.

"Can we give a huge round of applause for, Haruno Sakura, the birthday girl?!" The two both looked at each other not quite sure how this came about. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of announcement before some light was shoved in her face.

The crowd began applauding around her and she smiled at them and thanked them graciously, face still contorted with the light in it, and one arm still around Tadashi.

"Well, come on up here, birthday girl!" She would be tired of that name by the end of the night. Sakura weaved out of Tadashi's firm grasp and he laughed at her as she made her way through the crowd that was trying their best to part for her and then was helped up the stage steps by the man with the microphone.

As she got up there a few cat-calls were heard and a slight tint of pink was seen on her face as she smiled and waved awkwardly as a microphone was handed to her. Damn, she was so weird.

"Well, don't you look hot?"

Sakura shrugged. "Thanks," she giggled into the mike as she did a little sarcastic, model-like twirl for the crowd. The people seemed to love it (mostly the men) and more wolf-whistles sounded throughout the club. Her plan was to stay perky and sweet, even though she felt uneasy with all these eyes on her. She still wasn't even close to Ino's level where she could feel comfortable in the limelight, but she would make the best of it.

"Twenty-three, right?"

"That's right," she replied with a nod.

"Nice!" exclaimed the man, and she really began to wonder why she was standing up there. "Why don't you say something to your guests?" he asked before exciting the stage, though it sounded more like a command.

Sakura gave him a questioning look as she fidgeted with the mike. "Um, so is everyone having fun?" Cheers were her answer as she chuckled slightly. "Well, alright! That's what I wanted to hear! I don't want to keep you for too long, so why don't we start the music back up DJ?" she questioned, wanting to get off the stage and away from possible embarrassment.

"What would you like to hear, birthday girl?" inquired the DJ.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "How about some Lady Gaga? Is everyone okay with that?" Once again cheers were her answer and she gave an excited 'yeah' as she handed the mike back and went down the stage steps.

_Let's have some fun this beat is sick,_

_I want to take a ride on your disco stick,_

_Let's have some fun this beat is sick,_

_I want to take a ride on your disco stick, huh!_

Sakura was greeted at the bottom of the steps by her boyfriend who gave her a passionate kiss before leading her to the dance floor and dancing with her. After the song, they both went to the bar to get something to drink and Sakura sat next to Ino who, surprisingly, didn't look too drunk yet.

Instead right when the pinkette was coming up with Tadashi, she had noticed the blonde hugging the shadow-nin and a sad look on Ino's face.

Worry entered Sakura's mind quickly. "Ino…did he hurt you again?"

A miserable smile entered the Yamanaka's features. "No," she whispered, though it was barely audible over the sound of the bass. "We worked everything out and he was right. There's no way we could be together…like that."

Sakura looked over at Shikamaru and shook her head angrily. "Well, that's just not true," she guaranteed confidently. "You and Shikamaru would be wonderful together!" Sakura couldn't help but feel disappointed in the lazy chunin. Ino had enough problems to think about, and for him to be so insensitive—to his own teammate, no less—was just wrong.

"He doesn't need me, Sakura. He doesn't need a slut."

Sakura looked into Ino's blue eyes to see if there was any uncertainness in those depths, but saw none. Ino thought what she said was the truth. "You are not a slut, Ino."

"Sakura, yes I am!" she laughed. Sakura gave her a wary look, and Ino nudged her in the shoulder to show her she was alright. "I am, and it's okay to laugh. But I'm working on it and that's what counts."

"Exactly, Ino," said Sakura as she put a hand on her friend's. "Which is why he should give you a chance—"

"No, Sakura," said Ino, shaking her head back and forth and then she sighed, seeming to meet her resolve. "It's time for me to move on. I'm a slut, and I'm changing, but I won't be much different for awhile. It wouldn't be fair for me to ask him to wait until then, so we'll both go our separate ways." She looked over at her teammate again. "Besides, she's perfect for him."

"Who is?"

"Temari." Sakura looked over and surely enough, Temari of the Sand was talking with the cloud-watching chunin.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "They came?" When she and Ino sent out the invites, she wasn't sure they were going to be able to make it, with Gaara being Kazekage and all.

"Yeah, she looks so pretty tonight, too." Ino was right, though Temari always looked drop-dead gorgeous. She was so curvy compared to Sakura, and always made her feel like she, herself, had the body of ten year old boy. "You can tell that Shikamaru likes her. The way that he's standing—not leaning on anything with his arms crossed—OH! And the way that he only looks into her eyes…" Sakura heard the girl trail of sadly. "He's…he's never looked at me like that…"

Sakura pulled her friend into a hug as tears began to trickle out of her cerulean eyes and down her tanned face. "But I know Shikamaru still loves you. You've come to terms with him only being your friend?"

"I have," she sniffled.

"Then everything will be alright. You have a good thing going with Kiba, by the way." Ino seemed to quiet down at that. Sakura knew that she liked Kiba…_a lot_. Turquoise locked with aqua. "You want to dance with me?"

Ino left her grasp and shooed her off. "This is your night, Forehead. Don't let a cranky slut like me ruin it," jeered the blonde with a smile. "Go dance, I'll meet you soon."

Sakura smiled, squeezing her friend's hand comfortingly one more time before disappearing into the dance floor. She found Tenten out there and they dance for awhile before Ino showed up next to them about an hour and a half later. She seemed like she wasn't able to stand very well and wasn't making completely correct sentences, so Sakura knew she was drunk. The pinkette let it go, knowing that drinking was the way Ino coped with her issues, and if she was anything like Tsunade, she still had years—_decades_—to live.

--

Soon, Sakura had seen mostly everyone, except her mission. She wondered where he was, what he had been doing the whole time. _Not dancing, obviously_. She laughed at the thought of the Uchiha busting a move on the dance floor and then found her way out of the crowd with Tenten dragging Ino in tow.

They walked over to sit down at a table with Temari, Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, and Hinata and Sakura noticed the stoic Uchiha sitting at the bar, Kimiko nowhere in sight.

"Hey, party pooper!" shouted Sakura, a little intoxicated herself. "Where's your date?"

"Who fucking cares?"

She sobered up pretty quickly.

"Who the hell are you talking to like that?" she spat.

"Is anyone else talking to me?" Sakura was taken aback by his appalling attitude. Was there some other object trying to sneak up Sasuke's ass and die?

"Don't answer a question with another one, asshole."

"Why are you talking to me, why don't you go fuck Tadashi or something?"

Sakura paused and then laughed. "You're not being serious, are you?" She put her hands on her hips and glared skeptically at the boy. "This is why you're in such a funk? Because you're jealous of _Tadashi _for being with me?!"

He rolled his eyes, though his face stayed calm and then turned to her. "Why would I ever be jealous of Tadashi and why would I ever want to be with you?" For some reason that last comment stung her. He used to say that he loved her, and now _this_? "Don't make me laugh. You carry yourself around like you're some fucking prize, but you're not, Sakura. You're weak and not as attractive as you think. You sleep with and date anyone you see and you want someone to tell you you're beautiful, because you don't believe it yourself. You strive for perfection to make up for the past because you want everyone to be proud of you. You're a bitch, and I hate you." Sakura's throat clenched and she was close to tears. Why did everything sound like the truth, and why did it hurt so much? What did she _ever _do to him to deserve this?

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're an asshole, and I hope you burn in the nine hells," she said through gritted teeth. All the hate that she had previously had for him only multiplied as she looked at his serene face, but there was something different in his onyx orbs. Anger and…guilt? No! Then why he had said that to her!? He was not guilty!

She stomped off before he could see the tears, and Sasuke looked down and away, turning back to his drink. Her friends noticed her running towards the ladies room, and they followed quickly, dragging the drunken Ino behind them.

"You guys stay here," commanded Tenten to the boys.

"What?!" screeched Naruto. "But Sakura-chan's crying!"

"Just _stay here_!" she repeated. "I promise we'll tell you everything after."

"Well, I don't understand why _Ino_ gets to go! She's drunk; she doesn't even know how to spell her own name!"

"Yeah," seconded Shikamaru. "Just hand her over and we'll take her back to the table." He held his arms out.

"I WANNA GO!" shouted the girl drunkenly. "I have to PEE!" She began dancing around and holding her groin area.

"See, now she has a legit reason!" said Tenten before rushing into the bathroom with the Temari, Ino, and Hinata.

Once they shoved Ino into a stall, they noticed Sakura crying in the corner, and many distressed ladies around her. The three quickly shooed the random women and sat next to the girl.

Temari spoke first. "Sakura, sweetie, what's wrong?"

The medic explained her whole situation to the girls and by that time, Ino had finally stumbled her way out of the bathroom and on the ground next to the four. They were getting a lot of concerned and crazy stares from the ladies entering the bathroom, but paid them no heed.

Temari scowled once Sakura finished explicating the problem and then clicked her tongue. "That bastard!" She shook her head. "How dare he say those things to you?"

Sakura shook her head, her eyes red, and body still weak. "I don't know why, I really don't. I've done nothing to him."

Tenten bit her lip and looked down doubtfully. "That doesn't sound like Sasuke…" she murmured to herself.

"S-Sasuke-kun's always been a little…rude, though…hasn't he?" asked Hinata softly.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Temari as she looked at Tenten.

Years ago, Sakura may have believed Tenten—that Sasuke had a heart, that he cared for his teammates and would never say something so cruel, but now she wasn't even sure he had the emotions needed to function as a normal human being. The tears had stopped long ago, and now the pinkette was just curious and angry. Why had he done that to her? What had provoked him?

"No…no! I know for a fact that Sasuke loves you, Sakura. He's rough around the edges, but I know he still has a heart and a soft spot for his teammates and the people in Konoha," replied Tenten, spiritedly. She had talked to Sasuke long enough to know that he would never say something like that to Sakura. "There must be something wrong with him…"

"Well, yeah. He's had a stick up his ass for years now," scoffed Temari.

Tenten glared. "No, not like that. Sasuke's not like that."

"Well, then what should I do?" asked Sakura, completely helpless to Sasuke's off-temperedness right now.

The women (all except for Ino) looked down in thought, and then… "I think you should give a little of THIS and THIS! And then you should beat him with a stick until there ain't no more eggs LEFT in his chicken head!" screeched Ino as she waved a fist drunkenly. There was silence as they all stared at the platinum blonde. Said girl then grabbed her head. "I'm sorry. Please ignore me; I'm _really _drunk."

Again there was silence before the pinkette laughed loudly and happily, bringing her best friend into a hug. "Oh, baby, what would I ever do without you?" she asked, pecking her on the forehead.

"Idk, be bored to death, probably…" she mumbled, drifting off to sleep in her arms.

"S-Sakura, maybe you should just ignore Sasuke-kun tonight," reasoned Hinata.

"Yeah, it's probably best. Whatever it is might be gone in the morning," said Temari, Tenten seemed kind of quiet. "They probably spiked his drink with whatever Ino had."

They all giggled and hugged, Sakura wiping her face. "Alright, let's go dance. It's my birthday, dammit!"

"Yeah, let's do it!" shouted Temari. "Oh—but wait." The blonde pulled some lipgloss from her shirt and applied it to the cherryblossom's lips. "There! Now we're ready to go!"

The four sober girls dropped Ino off with the boy's and said everything was okay with Sakura before going off the dance floor and dancing crazily, like they do! Even though she wasn't supposed to be thinking on it, Sauske's words were still fresh in her mind. Why had he said such a thing to her, and why did she care so much? I mean sure, it would hurt anyone if that was said to somebody, but the way it hurt her was different. He said…he had said that he didn't love her, that he _hated_ her. That wasn't true, was it? She hoped the girl's were right and everything he had said was just something that people say when they're heavily intoxicated or tired. She knew it was too early for him to be going out so late after his surgery. Maybe he just needed rest.

Finally, the kunoichi decided to go to the private room. It had its own bar, tables, and dance floor too and under thirty people that were really close to Sakura were in there. There was a door leading to a small balcony, hovering over the town, which was at this point glowing with night time lights. The only people Sakura noticed weren't in the room were Kankuro and Gaara and Temari had explained that Gaara was very busy, and Kankuro was keeping him company. She said they were doing well and sent their birthday wishes, and that was all Sakura wanted to know.

The first person to talk to Sakura was Kakashi. He immediately embraced her upon seeing her.

"Kakashi!" she exclaimed. "Did you enjoy the party, or did you just enjoy your porn?" asked the girl as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"I didn't even bring a book, Sakura," he promised with a smile.

"Aww," she cooed. "Only the best for the only woman in your life, huh?"

He chucked heartily and patted her on her head. "Something like that," he said. "Sakura, I just want you to know how proud I am of you and your accomplishments. You're getting stronger and more beautiful every day, it seems."

She gave a small but genuine smile. "Thank-you, sensei. That means—" Sakura was cut off when she heard a snide chuckle from over at the bar. Sure enough it was Sasuke with a worried Kimiko sitting next to him.

"You don't have to lie to her, Kakashi. She's still weak. She has been and she'll always be," said Sasuke. "You've always stood at the back, looking on other people's accomplishments and wishing it were you. Weak," he repeated coldly. Sakura stood still, and then closed her eyes feeling fragile and naked once again.

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Sasuke…this is _my_ birthday," she said through gritted teeth. "I will not have saying things about me like that—not right now, not ever." Her eyes narrowed evilly. "Take what you said back," she said in a warning tone. He didn't reply only kept his back towards the rest of the crowd of people who were beginning to quiet. "Sasuke?"

Tenten's mouth opened for a split second as if she was trying to say something and then she stood from her spot on Neji's lap, but the Hyuga pulled her back down and shook his head telling the weapon's mistress it wasn't her place.

Kakashi only looked at the pissed pinkette beside him; Oh, if only the Uchiha could see her face now.

"I will not lower myself for a weakling like you," responded Sasuke quietly.

Sakura shook violently; a scowl on her face, and her hands clenched tightly, her freshly manicured nails almost drawing blood. "Call me weak…one more time…" she grounded out, angry tears beginning to prick at her eyes.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Wea—"

And before he could even finish the word, he had been punched with force off of the balcony near the bar. Screams were heard outside as the boy went crashing to the ground. He had barely had time to find his bearings as he opened his eyes, grimacing at the rising pain in his back. How did she—she had been so _fast_, he hadn't expected her.

He looked up to see a ticked off Sakura above him, her eyes a sharp and fiery apple green and body tense as she huffed out short and ragged breaths. He instantly turned his sharingan on just in case she had any more sneak attacks in her and stood from the cracked ground, he had forgotten of her super strength; if he hadn't brought his arms up to block before he would have surely been in worse shape than he was now—maybe even _dead_.

"I'll kill you, you bastard!" shouted Sakura, venom seeping from her words as she went in for another punch. Putting his stoic face back into place, he flickered away until he was behind her and blinded with rage, she turned around quickly trying to land a spin kick on him.

Once again he moved out of the way quickly. By now all of their friends had come out of the building and some were frantically trying to stop them, while others tried to protect the unsuspecting civilians on the street who had been thrown into this situation by pure bad luck.

Ino was first to run to Sakura once she saw what was happening, but was held back by Kiba.

The blonde (who had sobered up at the sight of her friend) gave Kiba a flustered look and tugged at his hold. "Kiba, what are you doing?! Sakura needs help!" she shouted.

"No," said Kiba sternly as he turned his alpha male persona on. "This is her fight; she needs to do this alone."

"You see how angry she is! She'll get hurt if she doesn't calm down!"

"Kiba is right," said the copy-nin as he looked on at his two students. "Sakura needs to do this. Sasuke will not hurt Sakura."

"But—"

"If we interfere, _we_ might be the ones to end up getting hurt," continued the silver-haired man. "This is Sakura's way of venting all that pent up anger she's had since Sasuke left. We should let her have this."

Ino groaned, furrowing her eyebrows as she watched her furious friend miss hits on Sasuke that the blonde knew she could make otherwise. This was not the way Sakura had been taught. This was not going to show Sasuke her true strengths.

Kiba wrapped a consoling arm around Ino's waist and then kissed the top of her head, using his other arm to rub his warm hand up and down her bare arms. "We should probably start getting the civilians out of here."

She nodded. "Yeah…" she said sadly.

Suddenly, all heads turned to the two fighters again, surprised looks adorning most of the people's faces. Sakura had landed a direct hit in the Uchiha's gut, a hard one at that.

Sasuke went slamming through a wall, this time not being able to block the blow as much as before. He was sure he had a broken rib, and a lot of bruising, but beyond that he wasn't sure what kind of injuries his cherryblossom had given him. Something had gone wrong with his sharingan. It had (again) turned off on its own. He snarled trying to turn it back on, only to have pain erupt through him again. What had happened? Was this from the procedure, the one Sakura had said was _harmless_?

Seemingly reading his mind the pinkette walked over the rubbish that was now the wall to an abandoned warehouse she had knocked down. He stood again, getting ready to parry or dodge anything else she was going to do.

"Your sharingan went off, didn't it?" she questioned with a smirk. "While the operation was indeed harmless, your body—especially your eyes—still need time to recuperate from your surgery. Your sharingan will probably only last a maximum of fifteen minutes before they give you any problems right now."

He glared at her for a millisecond before she came at him again. She met a loud 'POOF' sound and a cloud of smoke once she made contact with the rock she had presumed to be the Uchiha. She placed her hands on her hips. _Substitution?_

"Cute trick, Sasuke. Is that really all you learned with that snake bastard after all those years?" she jeered as she looked around trying to figure out where he was hiding.

The sound of hissing entered Sakura's ears and she looked down to see hundreds of snakes crawling out of the rocks around her ankles. They trailed up her body, restricting her movement and she struggled, breathing hard as her eyebrows furrowed. She fidgeted for a little while longer, when she saw Sasuke come out from the darkness, emotionless face in play and then winked and smiled. "Just kidding!" Again a 'POOF' was heard and Sakura disappeared to where she was behind Sasuke.

The Uchiha sighed and did a couple of hand signs as he heard the girl running at him from behind. She raised a bubble-gum colored eyebrow, not quite sure what ninjutsu the boy would do next, for she was only really familiar with rare genjutsu hand signs. Sakura let out a battle cry as she neared him and as he turned around she yelled out, "Too late!"

The sharingan-wielder grabbed the kunoichi's fist for a second and then let go. The pinkette's teal-colored eyes widened as she realized she couldn't move, and then she fell to the ground. She was so _cold_. _He used…paralysis...?_

Sasuke sighed and bent down so he could stare the girl straight in the face. She gritted her teeth as she tried to move her body. She wanted to hurt him _so very badly_. She wanted to hurt him for hurting her.

There was a long silence, and then he closed his obsidian eyes with a grunt. "I take it back." Sakura's face held apparent astonishment. He…regretted what he said? "You are not weak, and you are beautiful. People already can't help but love you, so you don't have to make them. You are not a slut that sleeps with anyone because you have amazing morals, and you are a prize worth winning. You are perfection and I am jealous of Tadashi for having you. I do not hate you, I love you very much." Tears threatened to fall from Sakura's eyes; she was so confused. Was he…apologizing for what he said? Were all of those cruel things never meant to be said before?

Her breathing shallowed as he got even closer to her, his lips not far from her ear. He whispered a few words into them and Sakura's eyes shot open once again.

_"I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm sorry for everything."_

Her paralyzed form began to be able to feel again, and she sat up turquoise eyes searching his onyx ones. He was being truthful, nothing in his eyes any hints of dishonesty. He stood and reached out his hand to help her up. Sakura was unsure of what to say, what to make her facial expression do, but she did grab the boy's hand as he heaved her up. Those words meant so much to her, meant everything. She knew when he said sorry he was apologizing for all the things he did in the past as well.

"I forgive you…" She was uncertain as to why she had said that, but something in his gaze told her it was alright, that she could trust him now. She pulled him into a hug and smiled, a tear finally trailing down her face as he embraced her bodice back tenderly. _"I forgive you…"_ she whispered again, as if assuring her own insides that she could do this.

As he embraced her, Sasuke began to wonder what he had been thinking. Why he had said those nasty things to this girl, the girl that he loved. What was wrong with him…? He hugged her tighter, not wanting to let her go, and she showed no signs of letting go either. Why, when he had spent all this time trying to explain to her that he loved her so much? Why was he lying to her? Was he scared of what she would think if she finally figured out his motives for being with her were just because he loved her now, and not just because he wanted her to revive his clan? Was jealousy really the reason? Was Tadashi that much of a threat?

Steps forward: Sasuke was finally growing closer to his blossom; steps back: he was (dare he say) frightened of having one of those outbursts with his Sakura again, and he was scared that once it started, he wouldn't stop until he had actually broken her.

* * *

**A/N: **Ooooooh, my goodness…that was probably the LONGEST chapter I have EVER written in my life. I'm looking at the word count right now and it's telling me 9,069 words! HOLY CRAP, THAT'S A LOT! It was NEVER meant to be this long; actually, I thought it was going to be too short…wow…ok, so anyway, I hoped you liked it! There prob wont be anything for awhile after this week because, I'm going to New York for vaca! I'll be back and ready to write after a week tho (:

**Also**, I'm thinking of changing my user name because I am sick and tired of Princesssayuri1, it was something I thought of when I was like 10 and it's getting old. If I do change it, it will be: **chewingonpearls**…it's a Lady Gaga thing, and I'm a Lady fanatic so…the problem I'm having is that I don't know if you peeps will recognize me anymore :( So, tell me in your **reviews** what you think, and if you like it…and about the story too so cya!

**PLEASE REVIEW! **Luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	12. Kiss

**A/N: **Hello, and welcome to another chapter! Unfortunately, this one will _probably_ not be as long, nor will the others…but that's never certain with me, is it? Ha! Anyways…there's not much to say with this chapter except **WARNING: SASUSAKUNESS AHEAD! **...Oh yay… (:

Er…also! Big mistake in the last chapter (it would seem that I make them all the time ), I said that Sakura was 23…she happens to ACTUALLY be 22. That's probably not a BIG mistake, but…I STRIVE FOR PERFECTION!!!

ha, pfft, jk ((:

_**KEEP REVIEWING, MY PRETTIES!!!**_

I'm still wary about changing my user name! Ha, we'll see when THAT shit happens :D

* * *

Chapter 11: Kisssdf

"Hey." His voice sounded soft and comforting; groggy, from a long night's sleep. She liked how it added to the quiet, easy time of the morning, how it wasn't too loud, how it was easy-going and sweet.

He smirked at how she looked up at him from her spot at the kitchen island, important papers and documents scattered around her in disarray. She looked up after jotting something down, and brushing a hand through her hair, moving the pink locks from her face. Her eyes were kind, and a small smile spread across her lips. "Good morning, Sasuke. Did you sleep well?"

"Hn," he replied softly, walking over to her side, hands in his pockets. "What are you doing?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he attempted to read the paperwork.

She groaned, sitting back in her chair. "Doctor stuff." She gave a lopsided grin, and put her pen down atop all the mess. "Being an adult with a job sucks ass." He nodded and she scoffed playfully. "Like you would even come close to understanding; you have quite the luxury with me taking care of your every need."

He rolled his eyes, face still blank with the slightest form of amusement flickering through his onyx orbs. "Please, it's not like you've been all sunshine and rainbows since I've gotten here," he retorted.

She laughed a short, sweet laugh. "Yeah, whatever…"

Sasuke smirked again. They had finally begun to get along for the past few weeks. It had been almost a month since Sakura's birthday party, and it was mostly rainy out as Konoha got ready for the summer months. Sakura was starting to trust Sasuke more, though he could always tell when she was holding up a barrier to some of her deeper feelings. She didn't tell him everything like he had wanted, but at least she was warm and kind, and treated him like a friend. Thanks to Masaru, the times of seeing the other male Fukushima with Sakura was scarce, which gave the Uchiha more time to be with the pink-haired medic and Kimiko knew her place enough to leave the couple alone. He had almost forgotten how wonderful and engaging she was to those she considered her friends.

"So, what's up with you?" questioned the Haruno as she got back to work.

"Nothing," replied the Uchiha. "Actually, I was wondering if you would like to go out to eat lunch with me today," he worded carefully. It had been awhile since he had seriously asked a girl he liked on a date. Thinking back, he actually never really liked a girl as much as he liked Sakura, so dates to him had been useless. This would be his first.

The sharingan-wielder wouldn't say he was completely inexperienced with women, though. He had kissed and touched girls before. He had had sex. But this date was different, more innocent. He finally understood that he would have to take that approach with Sakura as his target because she wasn't just some girl who was attracted to his looks. Sakura was different, and cared about actions and words too. That was probably why he was even more drawn to her now, than he was when he first got to Konoha.

Sakura didn't look as much surprised as she did confused. They had done a lot together lately, but neither of them had formally asked before. It was usually just a mutual feeling of wanting to go somewhere, and drag the other inhabitant of the house along with you.

The pinkette raised a rosette-colored eyebrow. "I guess that would be fine, but I hope you weren't thinking of doing it today." He had hoped it would be today, but he could deal with tomorrow. "I'm very busy today. You know, the Chunin Exams are only a week away, and I have to work hours at the hospital today and meet with my students. These papers need to be turned into the Hokage, which I was hoping you could do for me—" She sent him a short glance and he nodded in approval. "—you have a session when I get back from meeting with my students this afternoon, and I was thinking of giving Tadashi a visit." Now,_ that_ he couldn't have.

He closed his eyes. "Hn." He would figure something out for that little issue later on today. He knew he would have to stop it at all costs. Sakura's mind had to be totally on him and their date tomorrow, and he wouldn't allow any distractions. "When are you leaving?"

"Soon," she replied. "Well…as soon as I finish these papers which I estimate to be another thirty minutes." She smiled sheepishly, and he couldn't help but smirk. "I'm coming back to change after meeting with my students. I could walk you to your session on the way to my shift if you'd like," she offered, while getting back to the task at hand.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. Don't worry about it."

She gave him a playful look. "Alright. I guess you can walk yourself to your session. You're a big boy now."

"Hn," he chuckled shortly. Sakura now allowed him to go by himself, but he never said no when she decided to go with him. It would be a first.

He began to think about the Tadashi thing. He really didn't want Sakura to see him because, unfortunately for Sasuke, this wasn't just some crush the pinkette had on a guy, she actually _loved_ him. Though skeptical of how things would turn out between the Uchiha and the medic, Sasuke had learned to accept Tadashi as Sakura's boyfriend for now. Well, not even accept…more like _recognize_. Hopefully soon, Sakura would understand how much he cared for her, and would leave the Fukushima.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

The boy snapped out of his reverie. "Hm?"

"Stop staring at me," she stated, but he could see the small smile on her face as she kept her eyes locked on the paper.

"Stop looking utterly gorgeous," he jeered back.

"Boo, what a lame response, you loser!" she laughed, finally looking up into his eyes, her own teal ones dancing.

"Hn," he muttered, smirk still in play as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Whatever." And the staring continued.

--

Within the next forty-five minutes, Sakura had left the house, but not before gathering all her documents, stuffing them in a single package, and passing them on to Sasuke. With a small wave and smile, the girl closed the door behind her.

As Sasuke walked through the village, he was now noticing how the people stared at him less. They were getting used to the Uchiha, and knew that sooner or later (whether they liked him or not) he would probably be invited back into the village as a citizen of Konoha. Some people, he noticed though, did stare at him—as if they were waiting for him to mess up, or do something out of hand so that their Hokage could find no reason to trust him anymore. There was a slight chance that he could be let go of, for the people had coped thus long without him. With Sakura just now starting to trust him, and only Naruto and Tenten fully trusting him, he knew he was skating on thin ice.

He sighed, and kept his features in check as he walked into the Hokage tower, after the guards gave him a warning stare down. Being Uchiha Sasuke, he didn't give much thought to the glares until he had gone upstairs to the Hokage's room and reached out to knock on the door, only to be stopped by another guard.

Sasuke looked up at the guard. He had short, brown hair, and greenish-blue eyes that stared holes through the Uchiha. He had a small scar running down his left cheek, but other than that, he seemed to be a nice-looking guy. The angry-looking shinobi looked a little older than the sharingan-wielder, maybe thirty or so.

"What do you think you are doing?" asked the guard.

Sasuke's raised an onyx eyebrow as he lowered his fist. "Knocking."

"Have you requested an audience?" The shinobi that was guarding the door mimicked Sasuke's raise of his eyebrow. Sasuke's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. He did not like the way this guy talked or looked at him, as if Sasuke was the ground that this guy walked on.

"She's not the queen of Sheeba; people walk in unannounced all the time."

The older man gave him a sour look, his face hard as stone. "Not traitors," he spat slowly.

Sasuke's mouth thinned into a dangerous line. "I'm here on behalf of Haruno Sakura. She wants me to turn in these papers," he stated, ignoring the man's last comment. He didn't want to start anything with this random asshole. It wouldn't look very good in front of the Hokage, anyway.

The guy smirked. "Listen, buddy, I didn't want to have to do this but—"

"Sasuke, how long have you been here?" asked a familiar voice. The Uchiha turned around to see Shizune walking up to them. "You must be here because of Sakura. She told me you would drop off some papers today.

Sasuke nodded, flicking his hard, obsidian eyes the guard's way. "Yes."

The Hokage's assistant also gave the man a clandestine look. "I hope Hotaru-san wasn't giving you any problems." She reached out and grabbed the door knob.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Hotaru…? As in Hotaru _Kimiko?_ He would admit the slight similarities in appearance and he _did_ remember Kimiko saying something about an older brother, he did not know he was a ninja, though. "No," he answered, letting the man, who he now knew as his "girlfriends" brother, go.

The onyx-haired medic smiled. "Good," she chirped and then opened the door, closing it behind Sasuke. "Tsunade-sama, Sasuke is here with the documents Sakura wrote up."

The blonde spun around in her chair, and placed the sake cup in her hand on the table, a small smile on her face as she ignored the glare from Shizune. "Let me see them," she ordered as she reached over the table, with her hand extended.

The boy nodded and walked up to the desk, handing the Godaime the packet. Extracting the multiple pages from the folder, the chesty woman gave them a short look-over before setting them to the side of the desk, her black-eyed assistant bustling around her, cleaning her desk, and muttering under her breath how messy the blonde could be.

Tsunade pouted. "Yes, of course, Shizune," mumbled the woman as if she had heard the same monologue a million and one times before. She then interlaced her fingers on top of her desk, and leaned forward once again, smile in play. "Sorry about Kippei; he's a little protective about who his baby sister is dating."

So, they _were_ related. "I am not in any form of a relationship with Kimiko."

The woman smirked, her caramel eyes shimmering playfully. "Of course you're not. You just want everyone to think so, right? _Even her_."

The Uchiha didn't know why he hung onto every one of Tsunade's words, why what she was saying was so intriguing. Maybe it was because she was absolutely right. He kept his face in check, though.

"Kimiko is a tool to get closer to Sakura," he answered truthfully.

The woman gave him a knowing smile. "But you won't hurt her."

He quirked up an eyebrow. Sasuke was sure he would do anything to get to Sakura. How was she going to tell him what he would and wouldn't do, where he would stop?

"Admit it: you're a softy on the inside. You wouldn't hurt another girl who's in love with you. You wouldn't hurt another girl like you hurt Sakura." How did she know everything? Sure, he wasn't using Kimiko to her fullest extent, but that's because he didn't _need_ to; because he had no intention of hurting her. Sasuke almost pouted. And he was _not_ a fucking _softy_!

The Hokage sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes with a sigh. "I was wrong to assume that you were exactly like Orochimaru. You're nothing like him, really…" she said as if she were commenting on the weather.

Sasuke glared slightly. "I never aimed to be," he replied bitterly. Everything that man stood for, Sasuke was against.

"While you do have some similar qualities, you don't share the same dream, and you're not nearly as sadistic or repulsing as he." She smirked and rested her clasped fingers under her chin. "Your dream is to fall in love, right?" she questioned with a chuckle.

He gave the blonde a detached stare. "I wish to revive my clan; love has nothing to do with it."

"But you love Sakura."

Sasuke stood silent, as if confessing to the woman's last comment. But then he began to wonder… "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Just to make sure you understand that I know everything that goes on in this village, Sasuke, and if you hurt Sakura, I'll be the first one on your ass, got it?"

Sasuke wondered how she said all of this with a proud smile on her face and he couldn't even count the number of people who had said that to him since he entered the village. Sakura was very popular these days. He nodded to humor the woman, and then left without a word. All this talk about Kimiko finally gave him an idea on how to stop this Tadashi-Sakura meeting.

--

The Hotaru home was—in short—really big. It was in a part of town where many wealthy citizens lived, and the most of them were not ninja, except for the Yamanaka Manor which was just down the street.

Kimiko's home looked around three stories high and curved back at the edges with high pillars in the front. The house itself was a cream color, with black offsets, and small flickers of white throughout. There was a long white-stoned walkway right behind the large, black, Victorian gates and a fountain with a statue in the middle of it, making the walkway bubble out into a circle a little ways up. Her home was a modern looking one, like Neji and Tenten's, only ten times bigger. Because of this, most could tell the difference between where the wealthy shinobi lived and wealthy civilians (for ninja clans usually stuck to the looks of their ancestors).

The size of the house seemed overwhelming compared to the people who lived in it. The occupants of said mansion were Kimiko, her father, and her father's new girlfriend. "Daddy" was a merchant that traded with wealthy places around the Fire Country's border. Kimiko was daddy's favorite because, unlike her siblings, she promised her father that she would follow in his footsteps, and continue the family business once she was married. While Kimiko chose to stay (it seemed that "daddy" wasn't ready to let go of the baby of the family), Kippei had long since married and left, and Kaiya, the eldest daughter, was a big actress in a village near Suna.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, pressing a button at the gate and awaiting an answer. A elderly man's voice crackled through the small speakers and Sasuke announced himself and asked to see Kimiko.

"I'm sorry, sir, but Miss. Kimiko is tanning, and she does not like to be interrupted. It might be best to come back later."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Figured. _I have no time for this…_ thought the boy to himself. "Tell her it is Sasuke."

A sigh came through the speakers. "I will try, sir."

Almost instantly, Sasuke heard a screech come from the other end of the little communicator, before the young heiress came busting through the big double doors, passing a small puppy to a maid that had so sweetly held one of the door's open for her.

She marched down the steps. "Open the gate!" she ordered loudly as she skipped over to the Uchiha in nothing but a string bikini, white sunglasses covering her blue eyes, and her hair in a high ponytail. As soon as she reached the ajar gate, she jumped into the sharingan-wielder's arms with a squeal.

"What a pleasant surprise! Couldn't stay away, could you?" asked the girl excitedly.

Sasuke grunted and pried the girl from his form. "Kimiko, I need you to do something for me."

She smiled. "Anything, my love!" she chirped happily.

The boy took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. He reminded himself that he would only have to talk to this girl for another minute or so, today. "Keep Sakura away from Tadashi tonight," he commanded. "Tell her that you want to talk to her, or whatever, just don't let her near Tadashi."

Kimiko's perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed, and she looked confused. "I…I thought that you wanted to see _me_, came to visit, you know?" she asked softly.

"I did, but now this visit is about over…" he said impassively as he began to turn around.

The woman quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. She was shivering, and it wasn't even cold. "What if I don't want to, Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was quivering, as if hot, angry tears would come any second. "What if I say no?"

He closed his eyes. He didn't want to do it, he really didn't. Sasuke turned around and gave her a comforting half smile, his onyx eyes meeting her aqua ones. "Kimiko…" he murmured. "You said you would do anything for me."

Sasuke could sense the inner-turmoil she felt as she decided what to do. She bit her lip and fretted, looking below her, off to the side. And as if he were a drug she was addicted to, she gratefully embraced the warmth he was showing her, fell into his trap. "I will…" she whispered weakly. And Sasuke felt a pang of guilt because the girl had said she would so feebly, that he felt like she would soon crumple into pieces that he wouldn't have a clue how to fix.

He let out a deep breath. "Thank-you, Kimiko."

The heiress' eyes soon lit up to the electric blue he knew so well in less than a millisecond. "But don't get too happy," she huffed stubbornly with a pout and a cross of her arms. "I'll only do it this once so…scurry off before I change my mind." She looked off to the side obstinately, only for him to do what she didn't expect: _actually_ walk away.

Her eyes popped open and she took a step forward, clenching her fists by her side. "Remember Sasuke, I will NEVER give up until you love me! NEVER!" she yelled after him, and as soon as Sasuke showed no signs of replying, the girl calmed down considerably, the only emotions on her face disappointment and anger. Her icy blue gaze tore into his back for a long time, before she flicked her hair behind her back and turned on her heels, stalking towards the house.

"CLOSE THE GATE!" she shouted, and then the image of the boy retreating from her entered her mind. "And someone get me some fucking alcohol…"

--

After Sasuke's session with Anko and Ibiki, he went to the store to buy a few things before returning back to the house. By the time he had gotten back, it was already around seven and he was ready for dinner. Sasuke and Sakura usually decided who cooked dinner the next night _over_ dinner, and tonight was Sakura's night, but since he assumed his pinkette was with Kimiko right now, he knew that wasn't the case and he'd have to whip something up himself and fast. As he set the grocery bags down, he noticed a piece of paper signed to him sitting on the kitchen counter. He quickly opened it. It was from Sakura.

_Hey, Sasuke, obviously there's been a change of plans. Can't cook tonight, out with Kimiko. Your girlfriend is crazy; she randomly showed up at the apartment just as I was about to go see Tadashi, and said we needed to have a "girl's night out"._

Sasuke smirked. So his plan had worked (of course…).

_She wanted to go to this trendy, little stripper club the next town over._

He would kill that girl if she…

_But I politely declined. I've been trying to persuade the girl to go shopping or something since she entered the house. Chick is lost in the head._

Ah, his perfect Sakura.

_I guess Tadashi will have to wait –sigh—, not that you want to hear about him anyway (: I told Tenten to come and eat dinner with you tonight, so you wouldn't be lonely. Neji's on a mission, so she'd be alone too. I know I'll be late getting home tonight. I look forward to our luncheon tomorrow, Uchiha, don't screw it up._

He could almost hear her sweet laugh.

_Get some sleep and PLEASE do not do anything outrageous with Tenten. I know how you two ladies can be when you're exposed to one another. See you tomorrow._

_P.S.—_

Suddenly, the door rang and the Uchiha put down the letter to answer it. Upon opening the door, he saw Tenten who oh-so-politely let herself in without a word between the two.

"Hey," she greeted, with a smile as the boy closed the door behind her. "Where's the food; I'm starving!"

Sasuke sighed. "There is no food. It's Sakura's night to cook and she's not coming home until late tonight," he said stoically, albeit disgruntled.

Tenten cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? There's spaghetti in the fridge," corrected the mother-to-be as she went over and opened the door to the fridge to show that there was, in fact, pasta ready for the taking.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to look confused. "How did you know that?"

Tenten shrugged with a proud grin. "Hey, I just go where the food is. Especially since I'm feeding for two now," she explained as she rubbed her belly. Sasuke smirked. "Besides, didn't Sakura leave a note?" She pulled out the container of spaghetti and placed it on the counter before closing the fridge door and searching for the piece of paper.

"Yeah. It's over there," said Sasuke as he pointed to where the note was.

Tenten picked up the note and began to look over it. "Damn, she wrote you a whole novel," muttered the girl to herself. Sasuke glared blandly. "Mine would have said something like, 'Peace ho, out with the bitches'," joked the kunoichi, mostly to herself.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head at the spunky brunette.

Tenten squinted with her eyes towards the end of the letter. "P.S.," she read and then looked up at the boy with a snide look. "Leftover spaghetti in the fridge."

Sasuke had forgotten to read the P.S. at the end. It was Tenten's fault, though; coming at _such_ an inconvenient time. As much as he wanted to blame the whole situation on the weapon's mistress, he still felt foolish for not finishing the note that his beloved Sakura spent the time to write for him.

"Well, Sasuke," Tenten spoke, unable to hold back the laughter trying to burst through her lips. "I bet you feel like a complete idiot." She finally let the small snickers erupt into a loud chuckle.

"Just shut up and put the pasta in the microwave."

--

The next morning, Sasuke woke up really early. He was tired by the time Tenten had left and he didn't hear the door open and the click of heels across the kitchen floor until about one in the morning. He was surprised that Sakura had tolerated the heiress for so long, and even more surprised that she had cared enough to wear heels, but let it go so he could fall back asleep.

Since Sakura had been out late, and was off today, it was understandable that she would sleep late. It was about ten now and he had been preparing for their "date" in the kitchen since around seven. Sakura usually woke up at eight when she hadn't work until late in the afternoon, so ten was sleeping-in for her. Though he wanted his kunoichi to get some rest, he knew they had to get going soon if they wanted to do everything before the rain moved in.

Sasuke barely heard the pinkette's door open above the TV, the frying pan, and his own thoughts. She was scratching her head and running her small fingers through her unruly pink locks with nothing but a blue tank and pink undies on. Sasuke got a peak at her creamy belly as she lifted her arms into the air, stretching as she yawned while walking towards the island.

"Good morning," she mumbled and groggily smiled.

Sasuke spared her a look and then reluctantly looked back at the stove. "Good morning." Even in her tired state, she was gorgeous. And he smiled. He could get used to waking up to this every morning.

She sighed sleepily and then lay back so that she was splayed across the three high, kitchen chairs like she was in bed. The boy cocked an eyebrow. If she was still so tired, she didn't have to get up just yet.

"Did you make eggs?" she groaned, her voice still wispy and soft.

"Yeah."

She paused. "Can I have some please?" she asked, answering his question in return.

"Hn." He left the pan to get the hungry girl her desired food, and placed it in front of her.

The girl, in turn, rose from her spot and ate the eggs in silence and haste, eyes still half-lidded and dimmed, hair disheveled and fluffy.

Finally, when her plate was clean she let out a deep breath, giving the boy a blank stare. "Kami, I was _so_ hungry."

"Was it good?" he questioned listlessly, though there was a slight hint of care in his voice.

She smiled. "Delicious," she complimented. "Part of why I wake up so early is so I can eat. There was no way I was going to get any sleep with my stomach rumbling like that."

"Hn. You should eat more dinner."

"The thought of gaining weight frightens me," she laughed. "Are you going to eat anything?"

"I already ate," he answered as he turned off the stove. "Do you want more?" he questioned once he noticed her plate was empty.

"No, I'll think I'll save room for our lunch." They shared smirks. "It's not that far away. Noon is in, like, two hours." She rested her head on the table.

"Well, start getting ready. I want to do something before we go to lunch."

Her eyes instantly became filled with light. "What is it?" she asked, lifting her head from the counter top.

He smirked. "It's a surprise. Go get ready."

She pouted playfully and then began to play with the small remnants of egg left on her plate with her fork. "Why can't we just have a late lunch, and go do the surprise after? I mean, why are we in such a hurry?"

"Because, I want to do this before the rain comes," he replied as he began to clean off the stove.

She raised a bubble-gum-colored eyebrow. "What does the rain matter if we're sitting indoors?"

"Because we're not eating indoors, we're eating outdoors," he said, and it was then that Sakura noticed all the food on the table. She kneeled up on her chair to get a better look at all the food and gasped at the beautiful sight in front of her.

"Oh my God, you made anko dumplings and umeboshi! How did you know those were my favorites? Where did you find the time to buy all this stuff?" she rambled, gesturing to all the different foods that were laid out on the counter in front of her.

"You know my favorites," said Sasuke as if that was the most obvious answer.

"Well, I was completely obsessed with you when I was younger, what's your excuse?" she inquired, eyes still glued onto the food in front of her.

"I love you," said the sharingan-wielder, to which she swallowed her next words and looked into his obsidian orbs. After awhile of being completely speechless, the medic looked away quickly and Sasuke could make out the slightest of blushes on the girl's cheek from being caught in such a state.

"That doesn't explain where you found the time," she mumbled, almost inaudibly as she tried to change the subject.

"Last night, after my session." He was now back to tending to his food.

She smirked evilly. "Wow, Sasuke, I had no idea you could cook so well. You'll make quite the housewife."

Sasuke glared. Just because he could cook, and she was practically useless in the kitchen did NOT make him any more feminine. "Hn."

She giggled. "Don't be like that, Sasuke. I was only kidding."

"What did you and Kimiko end up doing?" questioned the boy.

Sakura put her hand to her cheek and looked up in thought. "Oh, we went shopping over in the fashion district in Kazuki Village, and then we had a late dinner," she spoke, and then sighed. "Man, that girl can _shop_. I guess I can't talk, though…"

"Did you get anything?"

She pursed her lips in thought this time. "Mmm…A new pair of True Religion jeans, a blouse—oh!—and a new summer dress."

There was a long pause before Sasuke spoke. "I want you to wear the dress."

She looked confused. "You want me to…" She let a small laugh and leaned back before getting out of the chair with her plate in hand. "We'll see…" The jonin sensei walked over to the sink and began washing her plate and the other dishes in there.

The Uchiha looked her way, and smirked. The way her hair splayed around her face and body, the way a small smile was always fitted onto her lips these days, the way her creamy neck dipped into perfect collar bones, and down arms that he knew were soft as silk. She was perfect.

She looked up at him with wide and innocent sea foam green orbs. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern etched into her angel-like features.

Sasuke smirked, his eyes going back to his fingers that worked on the food. "You're beautiful, Sakura."

The worry left her face and her smile widened, her eyes sparkled with bliss, and she put a hand to her curvy, scantily clad hip. "Is this part of your plan to get me to wear that dress?"

"Hn. Is it working?"

She bit her lip, and looked down before beginning to clean the dishes again. "A little," she murmured softly, contented smile still on her face.

--

Sasuke could have smiled like a child that had just been given ice cream. Sakura had worn the dress, and she looked gorgeous. It was a yellow, sleeveless dress with one inch straps and an empire waist that tightened right under her breasts. It was made of a silky texture that flowed out and stopped around mid-thigh; there were small holes in a line in the dress all around about a half inch from the bottom that showed small, almost teasing, glimpses of the girl's skin. She also wore six inch high black, Gucci, wedges with the Gucci sign in yellow all over it and silk laces that tied up Sakura's leg until about her knee.

Her hair had been blow-dried so it had volume and was hanging around her face and body, while some of it had been clipped back in a shiny, black barrette. She was beautiful. After so long of seeing the girl in such breathtaking clothing, Sasuke had finally asked her why she bought so many expensive pairs of clothing to only wear them every once in awhile. He knew that since Sakura was a ninja, being a fashion icon wasn't exactly top priority and the most of what she wore were workout clothes and the like. The pinkette had answered that ever since she was young, her mom had always dressed her to the nines (though she was a kunoichi with little time on her hands, as well) and it had just stuck; wearing anything of less quality than she did was kind of awkward. Her mother had treated her like a precious, little Barbie doll her whole life, and Sakura liked the idea of feeling good about what she was wearing.

It was fine, though, especially since the kunoichi's pay was good, and she wasn't in any type of debt. Even if she was quite the shopaholic, she never went overboard. The girl had more sense than that.

They had just left the house about ten minutes ago, and were walking through the village peacefully. It seemed to be a beautiful day, but Sasuke could tell that by the way that the clouds moved in that it would rain soon. The village, itself, was still very busy, not even taking notice to the how the weather would change in maybe the next couple of hours.

Sasuke glanced next to him to see the pink-haired medic clutching the heavy picnic basket in both hands, a pleasant look on her face as she reveled in what seemed to be the last few minutes of sunshine for the rest of the day. She had politely offered to hold the basket since the Uchiha was carrying something else of importance, but the girl almost looked troubled carrying such a burdensome weight while walking in her heels. But Sasuke had figured if she could _fight_ in heels (i.e. Sakura's birthday party), something like this wouldn't be a problem.

"Bad day to wear a sundress," remarked the girl disappointedly as she looked up at the sun slowly beginning to retreat behind the clouds.

"Hn."

Sakura sighed dejectedly. "You still never told me where we were going first." She sent a skeptical look towards the package in Sasuke's hands. "What's in the bag?"

Sasuke stared at her dully and then looked forward. "You'll see."

--

Sakura paled. She had noticed they were heading this way, but she didn't know that she would end up here. She wasn't frightened as much as she was ashamed; she wasn't dressed for such a thing, and felt out of place. She thought the best thing to do was to be utterly silent, just as she had done the last time she had visited the place, but on a rainy day, the place was even worse. Sadder, duller, even more morbid than she remembered.

Last time she remembered, Sasuke was trying to hit on her, but taking someone on their first date to the family grave yard would most likely scar the person, not woo them. So why was she here? Why did Sasuke choose the day that he was with her to come? Was he thinking _at all_?

When they had finally reached the graves of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, Sasuke kneeled, and Sakura, not knowing what else to do, and wanting to seem polite, did the same. She placed the basket to the side, and bowed her head as if the two deceased Uchiha were in front of her, staring her down.

Sakura looked beside her to see that her mission was slowly unwrapping the items from the package; a fresh boquet of Goldband Lilies, incense, a black, lacquer box.

The pinkette opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out so easy. "Sasuke...I—I didn't know. I…I would've…" she stammered, looking astonishingly down at what she was wearing, and feeling so naked in front of Sasuke's parents. "It's disrespectful for me to be here right now…as I am." She was embarrassed and uncomfortable like this. Her face grew hot and she felt tears prick at her eyes. Why…why did he bring her hear like this?!

Since she was young, she was taught to respect her ancestors, as well as the departed. And as she was, she was not showing respect. She probably seemed like a common whore. Sakura closed her eyes tight, as if everything would go away.

"It does not matter." She gasped slightly at hearing Sasuke's voice, but her eyes remained closed. "You are perfect as you are." Her eyes finally opened, but slowly, and he gave her a look that assured her that everything would be fine. "I have already told my parents a lot about you, so they will not care."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, and leaned in closer. "What did you say?" she asked, giving him a look of suspicion.

The boy did not reply, only began to light his incense and lay the flowers on the graves. The pinkette followed suit, quieting down a little.

After Sasuke had finished, he grabbed the black box and opened, pulling out an exquisite-looking gold chain with a circle-shaped pendant of jade hanging onto it. Small lines of gold wrapped around the large pendant like vines coming from different angles, and the gem itself was only a shade lighter than the girl's eyes.

Sakura was astounded to even see something so beautiful, even more astounded when the boy held it out her way. She backed away from it, not even saying a word, eyes never leaving the breathtaking piece of jewelry.

"I want you to have it." The way he had said it sounded like he was giving nothing more than a small plastic ring you find in those machines. She had received beautiful gifts before; magnificent things that she wouldn't give up for the world, but nothing so _perfect_, nothing so _clear_. It seemed to be an antique, something that her grandmother's grandmother would have worn long ago; it had to cost _millions _by now. The cut—the _clarity_…how could he stare it her with those smoldering, blank obsidian eyes, and ask her to take it?!

Sakura, finally looking away from the pendant, gave him a crazy look. "What?!" she asked hoarsely, out of breath, not yet ready to use her vocal chords.

"It was my mother's, and she gave it to me when I was young. But I want you to have it. Think of it as a late birthday present," he said.

Once again, the girl was speechless. "No!" she finally said. "I could never take something, so…_expensive_, Sasuke…I'm not that important." The girl had never thought of herself as anything so great to receive gifts such as this. She had barely shown him kindness, _on no account_ shown him love.

The boy did not say anything, as he had done before, only draped the long necklace over her neck. Sakura did not prevent him from doing so, having no desire to argue with him in front of all his ancestors. The fragile, golden chain was long, making the pendant drop into the crevice between her breasts. Once again she felt naked in front of Sasuke's mother. Taking something that was her's, something that the medic did not deserve, was wrong.

"You are important to me," murmured the Uchiha before closing his eyes and bowing his head. Sakura copied, saying a little prayer herself.

"It's been awhile since we've talked." Sakura's eyes popped open. "I've been in the village for a long time now, but I've been avoiding coming here. Part of the reason is because I didn't know what it would be like coming back after so many years; another was because I had been waiting for the right time." His eyes stayed fixated on the graves, but he paused. "I killed Itachi, and though I want to, I do not regret it. It is easier this way for the both of us. I'm sure you understand.

"Being away from the village so long has made me miss it here, all the people, as well." His nose wrinkled slightly, as if he were trying to do a small glare. "Well, not exactly all the people, mostly just one person: Sakura."

The girl's breath caught in her throat in utter mortification. Of course, who else could it be?

"I know you remember her from when we were younger. She's Haruno Yuka's daughter. The one with the forehead." Sakura grimaced, her hand moving up to cover her face. She knew he wanted to show endearment, but it all ended up in humiliation.

"I love her more than anything in this world, and she is very precious to me." Sakura opened her eyes and dropped her hands from her countenance, eyebrows furrowing. "I'd do anything for her, Mom. I think she's the one. I want to marry her as soon as possible." Sakura gawked at Sasuke as the boy went silent for longer than his previous moments.

She saw his face tense and then soften, as a small and amused 'humph' escaped his lips.

Sakura almost shot up into the air in anticipation. "What?" she questioned quickly. He did not answer and she looked towards the graves for awhile, suddenly understanding. "What did she say?"

He glimpsed at her, what could have been taken as smile gracing his lips. "She says you're perfect."

--

Sakura let out a satisfied sigh as she leaned back on the picnic blanket. Kami, that boy could cook! Sure, she had seen him make little things for dinner when it was his day, but never anything like this. It was amazing.

Sasuke had led them to a slightly secluded area where not too many people came. It was a big, grassy field, not too far from the mountain with the Hokage's heads. Sakura smiled up at the sun that had finally come out from the dark cloud and, knowing that it would go behind another in the next twenty minutes, basked in its warmth. There was no WAY _her_ expensive sundress was going to get wasted on such a dreary day.

Then, for the billionth time that hour, the girl glanced down at her new necklace worriedly. _It can't be mine_, she thought. _Something so expensive…_ She stared at it hard, too afraid for her hands to go anywhere near it.

"You _can_ touch it," said the Uchiha, a smug look adorning his features.

Sakura gasped, the boy having read her mind, and then pouted, looking to the side. "I know that. It's mine, after all…" She went to grab it, but hesitated out of fear. What if she broke it? Then, giving Sasuke a side glance, only to see the smirk on his face as he ate some more rice, she smiled and lifted the necklace and massaged it against her fingers, liking the coolness of the stone. "Thank-you, Sasuke. It's really more than I could ever hope to ask for. I feel horrible having it, though. I don't think I deserve it." She stared at the pendant some more and then narrowed her eyes at him. "There's not a tracking device in this thing, is there?"

He swallowed the food in his mouth. "No. It's just a necklace, I swear."

"Well, you can't blame me for being paranoid," she laughed. She stared at him for awhile before pointing towards his mouth. "You have a little something there." But before he could search for it, her fingers had already extracted the stray piece of food and popped it into her mouth as if it were nothing.

Sasuke could tell that the girl still only thought of him as a friend, but he would change that, and soon. He would have to try something completely different…

The boy stood up, wiping imaginary dust off of himself, and then with his patented Uchiha smirk, held his hand out to Sakura. "Dance with me."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Dance?" She let out a guffaw, and looked around as if people were watching them. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Don't make me look like an idiot dancing all by myself, Sakura."

She gave him a lopsided grin. "Hey, there's no one around. Go for it," she jeered.

He only gave her one of those searing looks and she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand letting him lift her off the ground. When she finally stood, in her heels, her forehead reached around where his eyes were. She crossed her arms and stared at him expectantly.

This time his eyebrow rose. "What?"

"Well, do you keep a magical boom box in your pants? There's no music," she stated.

He shrugged. "You don't need music to dance."

She gave him a sly smile. "Ah, a romantic," she giggled. "We'll see," she said, letting him take her hands and lead her in a formal style of dance. A few seconds into it, Sakura noticed his steamy stare. "Do you ever get tired of staring at me?"

"Stupid questions should never be asked."

Sakura hummed happily, and then looked down at her feet, noticing the difficulties she was having. Even though she could probably carry out the most difficult strategies on the battlefield, something as simple as waltzing (especially in heels) seemed very hard for her. Every time she thought she would step on Sasuke's toe, he would miraculously move it just in time.

"Should I take off my shoes?" questioned the medic.

"Hn. Not unless you don't like to be able to reach my hands when we dance."

"You're such an ass!" she shouted, sounding quite offended. "I can't help that I'm a tad bit vertically challenged!" But he could hear the mirth in her voice.

He let both of his arms encircle the small of her back, forcing her arms to go around his neck. "Maybe this will help?"

She smiled contentedly. "Yeah, it actually does. Thanks a—" Sakura tripped over her own feet with a yelp, leading to her falling on her back and the Uchiha falling on top of her, his hands beside her head keeping him above her and their faces only inches apart.

"Hn." He smirked. "Maybe not," he murmured quietly.

She smiled dumbly, getting lost in his obsidian orbs. They were so big and dark, and if she looked closely, she could make the slight distinction of pupil and iris. She grew numb when staring into such gorgeous eyes. She had almost forgotten how perfectly handsome he was. Big, black eyes, surrounded by perfect, creamy, white skin, and silky, onyx pieces of straight hair falling into them. She was so mesmerized in those depths, she didn't realize how close they were getting to her own, and didn't notice it until his lips were on hers.

When the shock finally passed, she was able to comprehend one thing. Sasuke was kissing her, but she couldn't move. The thing was she was able to, but she _wouldn't_. Something within wouldn't allow her outside to stop the _heavenly_—no, stop it!—horrible thing that was happening to her. She knew the right thing to do would be to push him off, but everything felt so right, felt so wonderful and his lips were so smooth against her own. Her eyes began to flutter closed as she realized: she wanted this, _had_ wanted this for a long time. Where the hell, had these lips been all her life. They were _perfect_.

She wanted to deepen the kiss, run her hands through his hair, moan, feel his tongue on her own, but she wouldn't move. She was scared if she did, that everything would end, that it would all fade away like the dream that it seemed to be. _Stop it! _She screamed at herself. _This is wrong. _But, Kami, why did it feel so right?!

Sakura felt Sasuke's teeth tug at her bottom lip, as hands began to weave through her hair. FINALLY! She moaned sensually, beginning to open her mouth so he could enter her cavern—

"Sakura?"

That voice. Sakura's eyes popped open, and she realized what she had done before she could put a name to the voice. Tears began to leak from her eyes, her face growing red and hot for the second time that day. Her head felt like it would burst into a million and one pieces.

Sasuke had already risen from her, and was looking at the person in front of them with confusion, and then the Haruno sat up.

Hurt filled the emerald eyes of the person in front of her before anger took over, and he quickly turned away, beginning to walk in the other direction.

"Tadashi…" her voice came out soft, quivering with tears, her hands wringing her dress. "Tadashi!" she screeched, standing up clumsily and running to the retreating man, tripping over herself in the process. She grabbed onto his shoulder harshly, trying to get him to turn around, but he shook her off roughly and kept walking. "Tadashi, please…" she whimpered weakly. "This is not…" But it was exactly as it seemed. Sasuke had kissed Sakura and she had done nothing to make him stop. She was not the victim, but the criminal. She felt horrible, why when she was talking to Tadashi was the only thing that she could think about was Sasuke's amazing lips against her own.

Tadashi had finally stopped, but he made no move to turn or speak.

"Tadashi…" She said the only thing that she knew was true. "I love you…I love you so much, just please…"

He continued to walk. "I don't believe you." And the girl sank to the ground.

She couldn't believe it. How could she do such a thing? Tears fell silently down her face, before soft sobs were heard and she got up and ran out of the clearing, the opposite way from where Tadashi left.

"Sakura!" called the Uchiha as he got to his feet and ran after the girl. He followed her down a hilly area with steps and stopped once he found the culprit.

Two icy blue eyes stared blankly his way, the woman's arms crossed.

"You…" he growled through gritted teeth. "What did you just do?" he asked angrily, sharingan pinwheel spinning.

The heiress crossed her arms as she watched the kunoichi retreating. "It is obvious what I've done. I brought Tadashi here." She smiled cynically. "Sakura will not be happy with you once the rage sets in."

Sasuke simmered, but kept his cool, only giving the girl the infamous Uchiha glare. "Are you crazy?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "No, just smart. I'm done working for you. It was foolish of me to ever think that trying to help another girl you were in love with fall in love with you, would ever bring me closer to you myself. I'm going to do it my way now, even if I end up breaking you both in the end."

"You're a selfish bitch," swore the Uchiha.

She glared. "Like you're any better," she scoffed, uncrossing her arms, and clenching her fists. "You use people to do your dirty work without remorse any other day, and you have the _nerve_ to call _me_ selfish. You're a self-centered prick if I ever knew one. I'm over you, Sasuke, but before I couldn't totally leave your life without giving you a taste of your own medicine. Throwing people this way and that for your own self-benefit; people like you make me sick."

Sasuke would admit that some of things he had done to get to Sakura were wrong, but the girl was taking it way overboard. He had never hurt anyone intentionally, and he had told the girl he was not interested. She could've backed out anytime. This girl was psycho. He glared, deactivating his sharingan. "Ok, you've gotten your revenge, now fuck off."

She smiled. "Oh, I'm not sure if I'm finished yet. You better pray to Kami for Sakura's safety. I will not allow her to be as happy as I wanted to be," she threatened.

Sasuke frowned. "What are you planning to do? What do you want from me?"

"Your word." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Kimiko held out her hand. "Promise me that you and Sakura will never lay a hurtful hand on me, and I promise that your _precious Sakura_ will stay unharmed."

What a coward. "If I don't?" She was Kimiko after all, what's the worst she could do, but then again, Sasuke knew the girl had more than one trick up her sleeve. She was a sadistic freak, and had shinobi blood in her family. Who's to say that she didn't have any skill herself?

"I think you'll find that I'm more than what meets the eye, Uchiha Sasuke," she insinuated, her eyes glinting dangerously.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he reached out grabbing her hand, and she held on tight.

"Let's make this interesting: a shinobi promise."

Shinobi promises were those that could literally never be broken, unless the person who broke it would like to end up dead.

"Whatever," grumbled Sasuke. If the girl stayed away from his Sakura, violence would not have to be put forth.

She smiled, eyes frosty. "You may do the honors."

Sasuke sighed, eyes fixated on the handsigns he was doing as their hands began to glow blue with chakra. He was surprised at how much chakra the girl had, and became even more curious when he felt hers falter as she tried to hold some of it back.

As soon as they were finished, Kimiko took a deep breath and began to walk away. "It was nice doing business with you, Uchiha Sasuke." He grimaced as she said his name and hurried off to help Sakura.

Step forward: He had kissed Sakura!; steps back: his beautiful Sakura was in a world of hurt, and Kimiko's impressive chakra control was very suspicious.

* * *

**A/N:** That was actually pretty long! I'm surprised! Okay…I really think I should just STOP telling you guys, 'it's not gonna be long', cuz I always contradict myself in the end ha! Tho, I think the next one will be a little shorter! Well, I hope you liked it; I stayed up til like 2 in the morning writing it, only to get back up at 7 to take care of my puppy…I'm BEAT DOWN tired!

I think it's finally ok for me to say that we're getting down to the final few! This story is so much longer than I had estimated it to be in the beginning, but since I'm a master of adding extra crap in, I guess around 15 chapters is about right! I think there should be four more to go :D

Anyways, tell me what you think! I hope you all liked it, I worked REALLY hard! There will be A LOT more sasusakuness in the next chap too!

I decided to give them a television, u-huh, I did XP

**REVIEW**, luv u and laterz!

--SAYURI--


	13. Confusion

**A/N: **HEY YALL! I hope everyone's having a nice Labor Day weekend! I should really be doing homework, but...pfft, we all know is a lot more important than THAT shit.

**WARNING: This chapter may or may not (cough—WILL—cough) contain a lemon! So this chapter, and only this chapter, is rated M! It won't be too intense, but if you don't like the stuff, skip on over to the next chapter later on I 'spose!**

**REVIEW**

_Now enjoy the sweet, sensual sounds of sasusaku, please_

;D

* * *

Chapter 12: Confusion

She was like a ghost. There, but not really. She still went to work, and did everything she was expected to do, trying her best not to bring her personal life into shinobi matters, but the pain was written all over her face. She drifted this way and that, without a sound, without so much as a small facial expression, and because the Uchiha was usually quiet himself, the apartment was always blanketed in this unhealthy silence.

Sometimes, on days that she didn't have work, she wouldn't leave her room for hours. Sasuke would check on the girl to see that she was never sleeping during these moments, only staring up at the ceiling with that same pained expression. Eyebrows furrowed, lips thinly pressed together, vibrant eyes glazed over in a dull sheen that made her eyes look dead: a look of lament, as if she were forcing herself to not cry. Sasuke had seen her. The only time that she had cried was the day that this had all happened. After that, all that could be heard was the heavy, thick silence, but empty all the same. Sometimes, he wished she would cry, just so he could see her show emotion, just to hear _something_ come from the kunoichi's mouth that didn't have to do with work, or 'do your eyes hurt you today'. But she didn't. She never broke the silence.

She was paler and already skinnier than normal. She ate less, not to the point that it was unhealthy (it's not like the boy had _died_, after all), but it was indeed noticeable. Sasuke was at a loss of what to do. Though it had only been a few days since the incident, it had been a rough few days. The girl didn't take care of herself anymore. She would've walked around in the same clothes without reason if it weren't for Sasuke taking care of her himself. Sakura was so lost without Tadashi it seemed, that Sasuke almost regretted kissing her that day because he didn't know what to do with her when she was like this. Seeing her like this was depressing, especially since all he wanted to see her do was be happy…with him, of course.

It was almost as if being separated from Tadashi was worse than him dying. It was like seeing something that you wanted, and someone telling you you can't have it. It was like possessing that thing for so long, and learning to love it, and knowing it loved you, and then someone tearing that thing away from you after all the time you had shared with it, and so quickly, you are lost without it. You've had it for so long that you don't know what to do without it, and finally understand how scary and unfamiliar the world can be without that thing. You find that you didn't just want that thing, you _needed_ it.

But with this, Sakura was unsure. Of course she was dissapointed with what she had done with Sasuke, but she wasn't sure she regretted it. If so, this wouldn't have been a problem, because she would've promptly pushed the boy off of her, but she didn't. She _let_ it happen, and because of this she was confused. She didn't blame Sasuke, it was her fault, so she didn't hold any hostility towards him. If anything, she was grateful for what he had done for her these past few days. If there was something she couldn't do, Sasuke was always the first to jump in and do it. It wasn't his fault. All this time she knew he was attracted to her, and it was her bad for not keeping her guard up.

Had she wanted to keep her guard up?

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, _this_ was about seventy percent of what the girl had been thinking on for the past few days. The other thirty percent was still on Tadashi (and she knew that she still loved him with one hundered percent of her heart), but really she was starting to wonder if she was beginning to have feelings for the Uchiha, too. If so, all the signs had been so clear, why hadn't she noticed sooner?

Suddenly, a knock was heard on her door. She didn't flinch, didn't even move. She knew who it was, and the person knew to just come in whether or not she said something.

The door opened to reveal the sharingan-wielder. "Sakura, you have to get ready for your shift at the hospital. It starts in thirty minutes." Her fingers curled weakly around the sheets of her bed. "Also, Masami is here. She wants to speak with you."

Someone was at the door? She hadn't even heard the doorbell ring. Sasuke was staring at her with the dark eyes that had lured her in the first place. The medic had been staring out the window at the never ending rain. The skies were so grey, and the rain so heavy, most teams were using indoor arenas to train for the upcoming Chunin Exams. Sakura had scheduled to use one tomorrow, so why would Masami come outside if she didn't need to?

Sakura lifted herself up from her bed slowly and started getting dressed. "Tell her I'll be out in a second." The boy nodded and shut the door to her room. Sakura sighed as she finished dressing and grabbed her docotor's coat out of the closet. How pitiful she was to not even be able to manage her own schedule. What kind of shinobi was she? If things like break-ups could get to her in her personal life, there was no telling what could happen on the battlefield.

The girl put her hair up in a bun, not even thinking to comb it or look in the mirror, and walked out of the room. She had forgone make-up the day her depression had begun. As soon as she walked into the room she was greeted by Masami's knock-out smile, the Uchiha standing across from her with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face. Sakura knew how the two weren't very fond of each other, so she decided to get this over with.

"Good afternoon, sensei!" she chirped, putting her umbrella against the door.

Sakura tried to muster up a smile for her student, but it only ended up in her face softening just a little. "Masami, can I help you with something?"

The emerald-eyed genin sighed and closed her eyes. "Bad news. Yasashi went out on a scouting mission with his father and Hyuga Neji-san the other day and hurt his arm pretty badly. He doesn't know if he'll be able to attend practice tomorrow."

Sakura let out a deep breath and put her fingers on the brim of her nose. "Dammit," she muttered to herself. That could set them way off in their training. There should've been some kind of rule that forbid genin from going on any missions other than D ranked ones with their squad or something. Sending a genin on a mission like that only a few days before the exams was far too reckless.

Besides, since the exams were being held in Suna this year, they had to leave two days beforehand just to get there in time to settle in and what not. That subtracted a lot of time from they're schedule on its own, actually only leaving a _couple _more days to train. Sakura couldn't complain, though. She knew that the war was upon them, and they needed all the military power they could get. Hyuga's were perfect for tracking and scouting, so for now, they were in high demand.

She also believed in her team. They were all very smart, strong, and disciplined. They could do most anything if they put their minds to it. But people _died_ in the Chunin Exams, and these children were like her babies. The last thing she wanted was to lose them because _she_ wasn't strong enough to make time to train them. She'd be damned if they didn't work their little asses of now, and thank her later for it.

"Did he at least go to the hospital?" questioned the medical-jonin, thinking of _her_ teammates and how they would be caught _dead_ before going to get a check-up, even if they were in dire harm.

Masami nodded. "He checked in last night. Hiroki and I visited him this morning, and he won't let any of the nurses near him. He says that he wants you to heal him."

Sakura held back the urge to roll her eyes. What was with the men she knew and them _only_ wanting to have _her_ help them?! Even Yasashi, as shy as he was had _declined_ everyone else's help? Life just didn't work out that way. What if one day, she wasn't there to heal them?! What would they do? Just _die_?

"Luckily," began Sakura as she grabbed Masami's umbrella and opened the door for her. "I was just heading over there." The medic gave her student a small little push out her door and handed her her umbrella.

The tan girl tilted her head to the side. "Really? Well, that's perfect!" Sasuke eyed the girl warily. He was surprised she had said nothing about Sakura and Tadashi's relationship.

Sakura nodded, as she held on to the girl's shoulders. "Yes, and you should get going too. It's going to storm soon, and I don't want you to get caught up in it."

"Okay." Sakura smiled at her student until she noticed her downcast face.

"What is it, Masami?"

It looked like it was hard for the beautiful genin to get out. She looked over Sakura's shoulder to see if there was enough distance between them and the Uchiha and then asked in a hushed voice, "Is it really true about you and nii-san?" Masami never looked nervous, but Sakura could see it in her eyes that she was scared of the pinkette answering this question.

Sasuke had spoken too soon.

"Yes," Sakura replied softly, still not happy about talking on the subject.

Masami was outraged. She gaped at Sakura, opening and closing her mouth without words coming out. "Why?!" she finally asked. "What happened? I don't—"

Sakura shook her head and held her hand up, silencing the girl. "You don't need to understand. All you need to know is that what your brother and I had is over," explained the older woman curtly.

"B-but!" stuttered the young girl, before looking around Sakura at the ex-leaf-nin and glaring daggers at him. "It was his fault, wasn't it?! He did all of this!"

Sakura gazed behind her to see the emotionless eyes of her mission staring into her own and then turned around, placing a hand on the girl's face and pushing it, until Masami's eyes were back on her. "No, no, it was not his fault," she said truthfully. "It was my own. I let this happen."

Masami started to take really short, quick breaths, her eyes filling with tears. It was very weird to see the young Fukushima so wound up and crying; she was usually so professional. She really cared. "The way you've been at practice, the way you've been carrying yourself…Sensei, I know you're not happy."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. It was her fault for being so weak in front of her students. She should have set a better example. Sakura kneeled down on one knee and put her hands on the young genin's shoulders, looking down and away. "This is too much for a child to bear," she whispered to herself before looking into the girl's emerald eyes. "I am very disappointed and—and _angry_ about what has happened, Masami, but the fact of the matter is that it happened. Sasuke is my mission; _he's_ the one I need to think about right now. Tadashi is a ninja, as well, and he understands—"

"I don't care about the mission!" shouted Masami, interrupting her teacher as tears began to stream out of her eyes. "You're not even _trying_! Aren't you even going to _talk_ to him?!"

Sakura shrugged. "Well, maybe sometime…He's made no move to talk to me either, though."

"You should initiate it, Sensei!" whined the girl. Sakura was at a loss of words when Masami's wailing continued.

Sakura sighed and tried to force a smile, not really sure how to fix this mess. "Everything happens for a reason, Masami." Sakura began to wipe the tears from the brownish-red-haired girl's face. "I'm sure if you just…be patient, something good will come of this." But Sakura didn't even believe herself. She had once said this to her shishou, but she didn't know if anything good would come, she just knew _something_ would come, and as a shinobi she had to make something of it. Sakura sighed when Masami didn't answer, only cried, letting new tears replace those that she just wiped away.

She stood up and turned Masami around so that Masami wasn't facing her anymore, her hands still placed firmly on her shoulders. "Listen," she said in more stern voice. She was sick and tired of this childishness, whether they wanted to or not, kunoichi had to grow up at some point, and it was best when they were young and easy to mold. "What I need you to do is keep moving forward. It may be hard, but you need to do it anyway. You need to get your mind off of my and Tadashi's problems, and think about the Chunin Exams that are coming up. _That_ is something you need to understand." Sakura leaned down so that her chin was resting on the younger girl's shoulder. "Just think about how happy Tadashi and I will be when you become a chunin, hmm? Isn't that what you want?"

"Yeah," came Masami's meek voice.

Sakura nodded. "That's what I want to hear." She smiled. "See you tomorrow!" And then she nudged the girl down the stairs and on her way.

The kunoichi watched her student go and then took a deep breath, remembering that she still had to get to work. Her face changed back into its tired, sad, and emotionless state, and the girl turned around to grab an umbrella herself only to see that the Uchiha was holding one out for her already.

Sakura grabbed it, murmuring a 'thank-you' before turning back around and reaching for the door knob. She felt an arm snake around her waist, and hot breath against her ear, but did nothing to stop it.

"Be careful," whispered Sasuke's low, gravelly voice in her ear.

She closed her eyes, and leaned into his hold. "I'll try."

--

The hospital was hectic at a time like this. Shinobi were coming in one after another after being sent out on dangerous missions to scout, track, and assassinate with the war starting. More and more shinobi were dying and coming so close to it, it hurt to even look until they were completely healed. Yasashi was _not_ dying. Sakura had spent maybe seven minutes healing up his arm so that he could go home the second after, get a little sleep, and train by tomorrow.

What was worse was that Sakura did not have the spirit to work. Her thoughts were still on Tadashi and Sasuke, and that was all she could think about as of late. She cursed herself as she laid her head on her desk. She didn't think something like this would stop her from succeeding in her work at such an important time as this.

The sound of someone knocking on the door of her office brought her back from her off-subject thoughts.

"Come in," she groaned.

The door opened, and the pink-haired girl's head remained on the desk, thinking that it was just another nurse reporting in or complaining about a patient that they have.

"Sakura." The familiar, commanding voice that used no suffix at the end of her name made her drag her head up and both her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Tsunade-sama?" She felt a little light-headed when her head wasn't on top of the desk, and it was apparent in the way she grunted and grabbed her head before slurring out, "What are you doing here?"

The Hokage put her hands on her hips and closed the door behind her, walking up to her protégé. "I should ask you the same thing," she said, eyes narrowing. "Why are you in your office, when you should be out helping the rest of the nurses?"

Sakura's eyes stayed on her sensei as she felt around her desk for some paper. When she finally found some, she held it up. "I was doing desk work. It's cooled down a bit out there, but these files keep adding up," she answered truthfully. She _had_ been doing this stuff, really, just…at a very _slow_, and _tired_ pace.

Tsunade looked down at the desk and then picked up some of the documents. "Sakura, this is secretary work!" pointed out the blonde, before slapping the pages back on the table angrily. "What the hell is going on with you?" snapped the older woman, a sliver of concern coming in through her voice.

Sakura gave the pleading eyes of a child when her mother asks her if she's doing drugs. "Nothing!" she denied frantically, but when her shishou gave her a knowing look, Sakura melted under her stature. "I-I mean…a lot has been on my mind lately, shishou," she said quietly.

The Godaime sighed and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to have to do this, Sakura, but I think it might be best for you to take the rest of the night off."

For this Sakura showed emotion. "What?! Shishou, no! Even though it's not as crazy now, who knows how many shinobi will show up later tonight! I have to stay! People need me!"

Tsunade shook her head. "Not in the state that you're in, they don't." Her caramel eyes were sharp. "I want you to go home, Sakura. You're not helpful right now. You need rest, so you can be on par by tomorrow."

Rest?! She had been resting for _days_, moping around, looking pissed and unhappy! Finally, when she felt as if she could do something, could help. "Shishou, I want to help! It's like you don't believe in me," cried the girl. It was wrong for her to play that card, but she really thought if she stayed a little longer, maybe she could save one life and make a difference.

Tsunade closed her eyes tight, and massaged her temples roughly; turning so she was no longer facing the Haruno and muttering darkly to herself. "Dammit, Sakura, don't you see that I'm selfish with you?!" she exploded, turning around and staring the girl down.

Sakura took a sharp, but quiet intake of breath at her teacher's outburst.

The woman's eyes softened considerably, and her lips weren't quite as thin. "Sakura, you're not yourself. You've been hurt, yes, but it's never been like you to bring something like your personal life to the work place. I'm worried for you. Please just go home and get some rest. I think being with Uchiha Sasuke is your best bet right now."

Sakura made a snide, short laugh as she stood from her seat. "Isn't 'being with Sasuke' what got me into this mess?" The pinkette knew that Tsunade always found out things before she was ever able to tell her herself, which allowed the girl to always be able to speak freely with her.

The caramel-eyed woman placed her hands on her hips again and shrugged. "Well, he's taken care of you thus far." Sakura nodded; that was very true. "Sakura, I think it's time for you to take some of your own advice. Everything happens for a reason and if you just be patient, something good will come your way." The girl was looking down, but Tsunade still tried her best to look her straight in the eye. "Is it really so bad that you might still have feelings for Sasuke?"

Sakura had thought of all that she had done to distance herself from Sasuke, all she had done to totally forget Sasuke, and if she did have to bring him back, she would only do it for Naruto. But now, she couldn't help but think that if he did run away again, she would do it for herself too. She wasn't so stupid to let someone's charm get to her, but if she really did love him, that would explain a lot.

The Haruno looked at her desk thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure…" she murmured and then began to walk over to her sensei. "Thank-you, shishou. I feel better now, and I promise that I'll be on task tomorrow," she said as sincerely as she could.

But that promise was empty.

--

Sakura threw her keys on the counter when she got home and sighed, taking off her coat. It seemed she had made it just in time; the storm had only gotten worse since she left causing a blackout. Sasuke was lighting the fire place in the living room when she walked in, looking up once he was finished.

"You're home early," he said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed as she headed towards her room.

The Uchiha followed. "Why?" He knew a blackout wasn't going to keep the girl from doing her work. Nothing could.

Sakura took off her clothes so that she was left in nothing but a bra and underwear and then plopped on her bed, facing the ceiling. It was so dark in her room, but with her door open she could still faintly see the flickers of light from the fire place, and as she looked around she noticed a couple candles already lit in her room. She smiled slightly the sharingan-wielder's way and patted the bed, inviting him to come lay with her. He did as he was told, and as if there wasn't enough of a break between his question and whatever she would say next, she waited, the Uchiha's intent eyes never leaving her face.

"Not enthusiastic enough." She shook her head. "Not helping."

Sasuke's eyes left her pale face and stared up at the ceiling too, the sound of her soft, raspy voice rumbling through smooth lips making him calm.

"I'm not helping because I'm not happy. I'm not happy because I'm confused," she continued, her voice sounding watery and full.

Sasuke looked at her again to see her face shining with tears, the small orange light of the candles making it show up and glisten even more on her feather-soft face. But he didn't understand, even though tears spilled from her eyes, her face still seemed content and strong.

"Hn." Sasuke reached over, and wiped the tears away with his thumb. "That's not good. I want you to be happy."

The pinkette turned her head to face him, her messy bun falling out of its holder and around her shoulders. "That's actually why Tsunade-sama sent me home. She's says you've been taking care of me, and I couldn't agree more." She smiled, grabbing his hand with her own and interlacing her tiny fingers between his bigger ones. "Thank-you, Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked, bringing her hand up to his mouth and kissing her fingers lightly, remembering the silky feel of her smooth hands against his calloused ones. He did not notice the small blush on her face due to the less than ample lighting in the room.

Sakura rose from the bed and walked towards the washroom. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready for bed. If you haven't put any lighting in your room yet, you can sleep in my room tonight."

The Uchiha watched her as she left and smirked. He had set up a few candles, but what the kunoichi didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

--

The pinkette exited the bathroom with nothing but her towel on, another one in her hand drying out her long, bubble-gum-colored locks. She threw her towel used for her hair on the bed and then opened her bedside table drawer. "I think there's a flashlight in here somewhere…" she said to herself as she searched through the drawer.

When she found it, she smiled to herself and walked over to the bed with it, only to trip _over_ the bed and drop the flashlight behind it.

"Damn," she muttered, glaring at her stubbed toe.

"I've got it," offered Sasuke as he began to reach for it from his spot on the bed.

"No, don't worry about it. I've got it." The medic, after tightening her towel, hopped on the bed so that she was straddling the Uchiha and stuck her arm in the crevice between the bed and the mattress where the lighting utensil had fallen. Her arms were _obviously_ not long enough, but as she reached further and further, her body began to press even closer to Sasuke's. He could feel her breasts smash against his body through the thin fabric of his shirt and that _tiny_ towel and he instantly hardened.

"Sorry, if I'm getting you wet," apologized the girl and it was then (and _just_ then) that the Uchiha noticed Sakura's damp hair dripping into his face. With her so close, he was able to inhale the scent of vanilla, figuring that the kunoichi had changed her shampoo and soap. She used to smell of raspberries, but this smell drove him wild as well. He wondered if she tasted nearly as good as she smelled and looked…

Sakura paused when she felt an unfamiliar wetness against her collarbone, and shivered when she felt teeth graze it. Her eyes widened as the heavenly feeling of sucking, nipping, and licking ensued and Sasuke took this vulnerable moment to grab the girl and twirl her around so that her back was against the back of the bed and he was straddling her.

Another shiver ran down her back as Sakura found herself staring into those searing, onyx pieces of coal Sasuke called his eyes. They were so dark, and lust-filled, she couldn't look away. The Uchiha again leaned forward, dipping his tongue into the nape of her neck and biting softly, the Haruno giving him a wary look. But as much as she felt the need to push him away, she couldn't. By then, her body had already betrayed her.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, holding back a moan as she tilted her head back, exposing her pale neck to his skilled mouth that was making its way up her throat. He teased her with soft butterfly kisses along her jaw until he reached her ear, the girl's breath hitching as he licked once at her earlobe.

"I only want for you to be happy," he whispered hotly into her ear. And with that, Sasuke had grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her into a heated kiss.

Sakura opened her mouth instantly once she realized this kiss was a million times more passionate than the little sample he had given her on the day of their picnic, and she subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She closed her eyes as his tongue glided across her bottom lip and danced slowly and sensually with her own. His tongue beckoned hers to come forth and Sakura moaned into his mouth in response, her eyebrows furrowing in amazement at Sasuke's fervor. When they parted, it was for much needed air and with a string of saliva hanging between the two's bottom lips.

Sakura was breathing heavily, her eyes half-lidded. Sasuke leaned forward again, pecking her rosy red lips once more to show his infatuation with his cherryblossom, and then began to lead a trail down her jaw line and neck again, until he got to the top of her breasts.

He easily ripped the towel off of her form before blowing on her creamy breasts tauntingly, erecting a grunt of anticipation from the woman. He kissed around each breast lovingly before scooping one into his mouth, and sucking on the nipple.

Sakura cried out as she clawed at the bed sheets, one of his hands harshly pinching and flicking the neglected nipple that his warm mouth wasn't around and the other drawing circles around her stomach. She could've gone crazy, his fingers were like magic. She wanted him so _bad_!

Sasuke kissed his way over to the other nipple and began to bite at it, the pinkette arching her back and pushing forward so that she was more in the Uchiha's mouth than ever before. After finishing up on the last breast, Sasuke maneuvered himself down Sakura's creamy stomach, and licked a circle around her belly button, small, eager moans slipping from the pinkette's mouth. He kissed the top of her perfect triangle of pink curls and then each thigh lovingly. The scent of his woman was getting to him and it took all of his might not to just ram into the girl.

He put two fingers to his mouth agonizingly slow and sucked on them, coating them with as much saliva as he could before sending Sakura a sexy look that sent her over the edge and entering into her warm cavern. He moved his digits as far as he could up, and then curved them this way and that, scissoring them and watching the emotions play out on Sakura's face. Already, the wet girl was so close to coming.

Sasuke curved his two fingers slightly to the right and pushed up slowly and a scream ran from the girl's mouth. Sasuke smirked, pleased that he had found Sakura's spot so easily, and the kunoichi arched her back again and bucked impatiently into Sasuke's fingers.

Sasuke smirked at her irritation. "Alright, calm down." He eased three fingers into her heat and began pumping in and out in long motions, hitting her g-spot again and again. The girl did not stop her grinding against his digits, as she lifted herself onto her elbows to do so, loud moans echoing in his ear, and only making him go faster. A soft squeal left her mouth when she came, and she fell back on her back as she bit the back of her middle finger to keep from screaming.

Sakura's breathing was loud and haggard, and already a small sheen of sweat had formed on Sakura's forehead. He sat up, marveling at the beautiful woman. Her chest was rising quickly in small, short breaths and she was writhing uncontrollably beneath him, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Sasuke popped his three fingers into his mouth, and licked the sticky juices off of them, not wasting a drop. He smirked.

"You _are_ as delicious as you look."

Sakura shivered and the boy pressed his lips to hers again in another sensual, but short kiss. As their tongues mingled, she could taste herself in his mouth. They parted again, and Sakura leaned her forehead on his.

"I need you, Sasuke…I need you _now_," she demanded breathily.

Turquoise met obsidian. "How badly do you need me?" he asked huskily.

Sakura closed her eyes, growing faint from the beautiful sound of his gruff voice. "So badly _it hurts_."

The Uchiha smirked as he complied with her command, and lifted up off of her to strip himself of his shirt painfully slow. The pinkette growled impatiently and unbuttoned his pants, pulling both them and his boxers down with a sharp tug. She found herself staring amazed at gorgeous abs among…other things, and before anything could be heard from her mouth, the boy had lifted her up and proceeded to lower her with caution on his throbbing cock.

Sakura was in a daze when he was fully inside of her. She had never felt so _full_, so _satisfied_. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, getting use to the feeling of something so big inside of her.

"God, Sakura, you're so _tight_," snarled Sasuke as he shut his eyes and tried his best to wiggle around in Sakura's cavern, only to have an erotic moan come from the girl's lips. He gripped her hips tightly, and slowly began to move in and out of Sakura, sending the girl into a world of ecstasy.

He, too, felt the warmth of her womanhood making him want to go crazy, and fuck the girl like she had never been fucked before, but he would wait until she was ready.

The girl moved her hips with him, before shouting, "Please, Sasuke, faster!" to which the boy couldn't agree more. His pace sped up until he was slamming into the girl with all his might. The way she tossed back her head, and moved in sync with him made the man go wild and after awhile he felt himself about to cum, but he wanted so much for her to cum first.

He positioned himself in the girl so that he hit her g-spot with every stride, harder and faster as she went along, Sakura scratching desperately at his back. "Come on, Sakura…" he growled. "You have to cum first." He reached up to her breasts and she gasped as he pinched them harshly, throwing her head back as he continued to smash into her. She came with one final squeeze and Sasuke kissed her, swallowing her loud moans with his mouth, breaking from her just in time for her to scream his name.

That was enough to bring him to his orgasm, as they rode out her high together, and he groaned, spilling his seed into her. He grabbed her legs and pulled himself out of her, placing her gingerly on the bed, and collapsing on top of her with a growl, breathing hard against her neck. He bit into her shoulder and then captured her mouth in one more hot, slow kiss. She mewed into his mouth and he nipped at her lip, before laying his head on her chest.

She massaged her fingers through his silky, black locks and hummed to herself softly, eyes closed in satisfaction.

He lifted himself off of the girl slowly and then looked into her eyes fixedly. "I love you, Sakura." He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she looked up at him with those big, teal eyes that drove him insane. They danced in the firelight and then she closed her eyes, leaning into his hold, and this time resting her head on his chest. She was silent, and the Uchiha, knowing she was tired, turned to the bedside table and blew out the candles, falling asleep as well.

"_I think…I love you, too_."

Step forward: He had finally made love to his cherryblossom; steps back: He knew she was still sad, and whether it was over losing the Fukushima, or being _truly_ confused over which man she would choose, he did not know.

* * *

**A/N: **See, that chapter wasn't nearly as long as the others! I hope that lemon wasn't too graphic. I did my best…I know it wasn't that good. To me, it seemed really rushed and it felt like it had no real emotion! That's because this is actually the first lemon I've ever written (but, I'm sure you could tell, ha, it was so pitiful...). I've never really been into writing these things… Well, I hope it was to your liking! You can tell me what you think in your **REVIEW****!** We'll see what happens the morning after in the next chapter :o

If you all saw how I spelled 'kiss' in my last chapter, you'll notice it was spelled something like, 'kisssdf'! That would be because my darling puppy decided to hop up on the desk while I was typing and walk all over the keyboard! I really should edit more…

Luv u and laterz! REVIEW!

--SAYURI--


	14. The Morning After

**A/N: Not much to say! Enjoy the chapter, I guess (: The rating has obvs changed to M for obvs reasons XP**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Morning After

Sasuke woke up the next morning unable to feel the warmth that he had felt the previous night. The blinds were open letting unwanted light filter into the room, the TV in the living area was blaring, and there was no pink-haired hottie lying naked next to him. He sat up out of the bed and pulled his underwear and pants on before making his way to the door. Upon opening it, he saw his cherryblossom showing off her gorgeous, creamy legs in the short spandex shorts she was wearing.

He leaned against the doorframe with a smirk. "You're up early."

She didn't look up, apparently working on something. "Yeah," she murmured blankly.

He peered over the couch to see that she was packing stuff in a backpack and that she was wearing a tight navy blue, short sleeved shirt with the Haruno insignia on the back of it. She wore bindings up to right under her elbow and wore her normal ninja boots. These were things kunoichi would usually adorn on a mission, which he knew _his_ Sakura wasn't going on. "Where are you going?"

"Ino's," she said as she slung her backpack on her shoulder and then walked towards the door, not sparing the Uchiha one look. "ANBU are around the perimeter, so don't try anything funny."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow the chick's way. They had just had a rather intimate night, and now they were back where they started. "Sakura, why are you acting this way?" he questioned.

Sakura finally turned his way, giving him a disgusted look. "_Why am I acting this way_?" She scoffed. "How can you just sit there and tell me that you don't know why I'm acting this way?!"

He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, gazing at her with suspicion. "Because I don't. What's going on?"

"Oh, don't play dumb," she spat. "You know _exactly _what's going on!"

His eyes grew hard. "_No_, I don't."

She went quiet and then took a step backward, her lips thinning as she looked at him with doubting eyes. The Haruno didn't know what to say. She didn't know he could be so cruel as to do something like that to her and then just let it go like it was nothing, to look at her through those unfazed, darkened depths and lie to her face. "You slept with me, Sasuke," she whispered quietly, her voice trembling with held back tears.

He gave her a confused look. She was so hung up on _that_? She had asked for half of the things he had done to her. She knew that he loved her; it shouldn't have been a surprise that he wanted to pleasure her in any way possible. "Ok, so why are you angry?"

She shook her head at him, turquoise eyes thinning. "How can you not see the wrong in what you've done?" she asked tentatively, her voice beginning to rise again. "You had sex with me, Sasuke! I've been depressed about Tadashi, _my ex-boyfriend_, for _days_, and you _had sex with me_!" She was yelling now, and Sasuke could only look at her with slight surprise. "You practically took _advantage_ of me!" she accused.

Now, that was not true. He crossed his arms and gave her a hard stare. "Bull shit, Sakura."

Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, '_bull shit'_, of course…" Her voice was thick with tears and she turned, grabbing the doorknob and Sasuke almost began to panic.

Sasuke took a couple steps forward, holding out his hand. "Sakura, don't leave," he said firmly. "I can fix this."

"You can't."

"I can," he said, and she let go of the doorknob. "But you have to tell me what you're feeling right now."

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Kami, do I really have to tell you, Sasuke? I'm angry as hell."

"Why?" And before she could get the words out, he cut her off. "I need the _exact_ reason why. Is it because you don't like me?"

Sakura gave him a crazy look. "No!" she shouted. "That's ridiculous; you're being a child!"

"Is it because you didn't like the sex?"

The pinkette flushed crimson, half-way out of frustration, the other half out of embarrassment. "Ah! No—eh, I mean…" she replied quickly, getting pretty flustered. "That's besides the point! I—"

"Is it because you still have feelings for Tadashi?"

Sakura looked down at the ground disconcertedly. "No—well…" she stammered. "I don't know…It's—I—"

"Then why are you angry?"

She covered her face, for a moment and then began to shake. "It's because I trusted you!" she screamed, tearing her hands from her face as tears streamed down her red cheeks. His eyes grew wide. "I trusted you, Sasuke. I trusted you to be a good friend and to take care of me in my time of need and you didn't! You knew I was hurting, you knew I was depressed!" Her bottom lip trembled as she tried to bite back the tears coming from her big, teal eyes, but to no avail. "You took advantage me…" she whispered.

"I didn't—"

"You did!" she screeched, cutting the boy off. "You did…" she whispered again, breathlessly and then closed her eyes looking away and balling her fists. "I thought you had changed. I thought I could trust you," she said through gritted teeth. "But you proved me wrong. What I'm most angry about is that despite what all my friends said, I gave you another chance." She shook her head and then gave a short, spiteful laugh. "But that's all you wanted from me, right? A nice fuck!" she spat, and then grabbed the door, yanking it open.

"Wait, Sakura—" But she didn't. She left. And he said the thing that was hardest in the world for him to say. "I'm sorry…"

Sasuke stood there awestruck. He didn't know that's how she would have taken it. She seemed alright the night before, she seemed like she had gotten better. She was smiling more, definitely, and in the firelight after they had had sex, she had had this ethereal glow around her, almost as if she were an angel. He didn't understand. She had seemed so _happy_.

Was it his imagination? Did she seem happy because he, himself, was so happy? This girl was the most confusing chick he had ever met. He was so angry that she had left her, so distraught; he didn't know what to do with himself. Why did she leave him? After he had been so kind, gone against himself to please her in the way he _knew_ she wanted to be pleased.

He slammed his fist against the table counter and gritted his teeth before walking to the couch and sitting on it, body stiff and tense against the cushions. He had worked so hard, and all in vain. All the words and feelings they had exchanged over all the time he had been there had been erased, and they were back at square one.

But he felt so much different then what he had felt in the beginning. He loved her more, wanted her more than ever now. She was perfect, and he could now point out each and every reason why it was so.

He gazed down. He wasn't a wuss. He wasn't going to proclaim that he was in the middle of some unrequited love disaster. Because he knew Sakura had feelings for him…somewhere in that gorgeous body of hers, deep inside that big heart that she not only showed to her close friends and family, but to strangers and patients as well.

She was just as confused as he was, but at least he was _trying_. He glared. He would have to force her to believe that she just couldn't live without him, just as he couldn't without her.

--

Sakura plodded down the stairs, sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes, adding chakra to make her face look less red and puffy. She was so lost, so hurt. And even though she had just had that huge fight with Sasuke, she didn't know why. Sure, she had been depressed over Tadashi, and _most likely_ just wanting to feel loved by someone, she fucked Sasuke. Big deal, right—it was just like being drunk. Wasn't that how most people dealt with emotional losses like that?

Sakura sighed. It probably would've helped if she wasn't emotionally attached to both of the guys in this situation. She was so angry. How could she just fall in love with a bastard like Sasuke? Someone who cared that she had been depressed, and _knew_ she wasn't in the right state of mind, would have never taken advantage of her like that. She wasn't that good of an actress. Masami had said it herself; the sadness was written all over her face.

The medic had to wonder what was going on in the Uchiha's head when they had had sex the previous night. Did he have good or bad intentions? Good for him could be bad to her and vice versa. She didn't know what to think anymore.

She was so caught up in thought, she didn't notice when her brunette friend had skipped towards her.

"Hey, Sakura, I was just heading…over…" Her eyebrows furrowed and she took a step forward, reaching her hand out to the pinkette. "Sakura…honey, are you _crying_?"

The girl's eyes widened and she touched a hand to her cheek. She looked down at her fingers to see they were covered in a salty liquid and then looked around in shock. The Haruno hadn't known she was still crying, and now she was far into the village. She wondered how many people had seen her in such a weak and vulnerable form, and put her head down, trying her best to cover her face with her bangs.

"Sakura…" The weapon's mistress reached forward, trying to pull the weeping girl into a hug, but Sakura quickly jerked away.

She held both of her cheeks, trying to hide the fact that she was _still_ crying. "I…" She shook her head. "I have to go," and she walked away from the brunette swiftly.

She was so embarrassed. She could almost feel the various civilian's eyes on her, hear their worried and surprised voices whispering about her, but she continued to bustle away, angry at herself for looking so weak and defenseless.

She had never cried so much over a broken relationship, never been so sad and helpless. She knew she loved Tadashi. She knew she loved Sasuke. She knew she was confused. As she fought her way through the village, her gaze still down, and away from the eyes of the citizens, she racked her brain, trying to make a list of pros and cons for each guy.

_Sasuke's _gorgeous_. Damn…so is Tadashi. Tadashi's voice is…ah—but just _thinking_ about Sasuke's..._

This wasn't helping; at this point, they were practically equal. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but in the moment, it kind of made a little sense in her head.

_The way Sasuke comforted me for the past few days…I knew that wasn't _just _so he could get into my pants. _She bit her lip._ But, the number of times Tadashi has comforted me…he's seen me at my worst, as well._ She shook her head._ Cons—got to think of the cons._ Anger rushed through her veins._ Sasuke deserted us all._ But through that painful thought, a small voice rang true.

_**But he came back…**_

Sakura paused in her tracks, as she was hit with a sense of realization.

_**He came back for YOU**_. Her eyes brightened. _He came back for ME_.

And it was then that she knew that she loved Sasuke with all that she was. A smile graced her features, and she reached up, wiping another escaped tear from her face. A wave of happiness ran over her, but she did not show it as she looked up towards the clan complex she was standing in front of. Her eyebrows furrowed and she took a big breath.

"I'm so sorry, Tadashi…" she whispered to herself as she entered the big, open gates that lead to the Fukushima compound. She looked around at all the different buildings behind the gate and then made her way to the houses towards the back where most of the higher ups lived. Since Tadashi's family was the head family, they were the furthest back, in one of the biggest houses.

The Fukushima households and area was just like the Uchiha part of town, only smaller since the Uchiha had around 200-300 families and the Fukushima only had around fifty or sixty. Sakura finally walked through another gate (though, much smaller than the one leading into the Fukushima part of town as a whole), and entered the courtyard leading up to the front of the house.

She had almost forgotten how beautiful it was with gorgeous plants and trees all around it, a pond with koi fish to the right, and a swerving walkway down the middle. If only to make the setting more beautiful, a woman with honey-colored locks, wrapped up in a big bun sat on a stone bench under a blossoming tree near the pond. She had dark skin like the other Fukushima and she wore a breathtaking azure, silk kimono with a mint green obi. Her eyes were shut and her hands were crossed in front of her, hidden behind the long sleeves of her kimono. She looked the closest thing to a princess that Sakura had ever seen, perfect in every way.

Without noticing it, Sakura was drifting closer and closer to the woman in mid-meditation, and then stopped when the goddess' sapphire eyes opened.

The woman gasped and stood when she saw the girl. "Sakura-chan!" she breathed as she brought the girl into a warm embrace. "It's been so long. How are you?"

When she looked into this woman's face, she began to remember why Masami was as beautiful as she was. "I'm fine, Fukushima-san." But as she looked into Tadashi's mother's eyes, she saw the age. She was usually so young looking, but Sakura could see the worry creases across her face, and she instantly became sad, not remembering her to be like this. "How are you feeling?" she asked, voice filled to the brim with concern.

The blonde shook her head. "I'm fine, my dear, but that's not what you've come for. Quick, you wish to speak with Tadashi, yes? I've raised such a coward; I've been trying to get him to talk to you all week," the woman fretted as she dragged the pinkette along. Even the eloquent and graceful way in which the woman talked couldn't hide the worrisome plea in her voice. Sakura could almost feel the anxiety in the older woman's tone. "He'll be so happy that you're coming to talk about being with him again. I don't know what he'd ever do without you."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she stopped walking, pulling against the blue-eyed woman's hold. The older lady turned and looked at the Haruno impatiently, only to see an uncomfortable look in her eyes.

"Sakura-chan, why, what's wrong, dear?" she asked tenderly.

Sakura looked to the side and played with her fingers. "Fukushima-san…I…" She finally looked back at the woman. "I don't think Tadashi and I…will ever be able to have that kind of relationship ever again."

The Fukushima furrowed her eyebrows and her expression seemed pained. She paused. "O…oh…I…forgive me, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry." The woman almost looked like _she_ was the one with a broken heart. She tried her best to smile, and feigned happiness. "You still wish to speak with him, am I correct?"

"Yes, please…if it is not too much trouble," she mumbled humbly.

"Sakura-chan, you do not have to be so polite. You should know you are like a daughter to me. You're always welcome here, and nothing is ever too much trouble."

Sakura smiled. "Thank-you, Fukushima-san." The older woman smiled again and then opened the door to her home, walking inside. She let the pinkette in and then shut the door behind her.

The Fukushima modestly took Sakura's backpack from her back, and set it in a young maid's hands. Sakura had almost forgotten that while the Fukushima clan was also a ninja clan and were known well for the mastery in weaponry, they were still nobility like the Konoe clan, and didn't specialize as much in ninjutsu as most other clans.

"If you don't mind waiting, Sakura, Yuki will bring Tadashi down in a moment," said the woman, gesturing towards the maid who'd went off into the fortress they called their home.

"Ah—of…of course."

A few moments later, Tadashi walked into the front room, his dark, emerald eyes glued harshly on hers. The medic's heart began to beat faster, and her words got caught in her throat. Her palms became sweaty and she knitted her eyebrows together with a troubled look. Awkward silence reigned for awhile, but then Sakura found the courage to break it.

"Tadashi, can we talk?" she asked meekly.

The boy's eyes remained stern and he stalked over to the door, opening it. Catching his gist, Sakura walked out onto the front patio, the male in tow. He shut the door behind them without a word, leaned against it with his arms crossed, and looked on with dark, expectant eyes.

The kunoichi opened her mouth to speak, but words did not come out. She wringed her hands against one another uneasily and tried her best to keep her eyes gently on his. She didn't want him to know how much of a wreck she was without him, how…undeniably _crazy_ she had gone. She wanted him to listen without making assumptions. She tried a small smile.

"Tadashi…I…I don't really know where to start," she began sheepishly. "I mean, I—I…I'm _sorry_ for the pain I've probably put you through. A—and…and, I probably should have…told you sooner what was going on between Sasuke and me…? Um…" she stuttered, looking down and feeling rather foolish and then looking up with wide eyes. "N—not that we had anything going on like _that_! I swear, I'm not a…a—a _two-timing whore_! I—"

Sakura finally noticed Tadashi's confused and irritated eyes on her and immediately shut-up. She felt so stupid. She sounded even more suspect rambling on and on in circles like this. What she needed to do was calm down. She looked up into her ex-boyfriend's forest green eyes, and wanted to melt, feeling a pang of sadness at the way he looked at her now. She had never received that look from him and it was unnerving.

She scratched the back of her head and smirked, letting out a snide chuckle. "I probably sound like such an idiot right now," she muttered to herself before looking back up into his eyes. "Excuse my stammering, Tadashi, I…I still get nervous when I talk to you sometimes…" The red-brown haired boy's eyes softened ever-so-slightly, but he stayed mute.

Sakura's smile was soft and small, spreading lightly across plump, pink lips. "Part of the reason's probably because…you still make me feel like a child when I'm with you. I'm so happy and filled with light…" Her smile widened and a small laugh slipped through her mouth, one tear rolling down her pale cheek. "I don't know what to do with myself. All I feel is innocence and warmth and I become that joyful, 12 year-old, genin all over again. I still love you, Tada-kun." Tears were now streaming down her cheeks as her smile began to fade and her gaze fell. "But…I…I still love Sasuke, too, and that's why I'm so confused," she croaked, her voice beginning to break as she reached up a fist to wipe her tears away with a small, balled fist. "That's why…"

Tadashi felt for his kunoichi, and couldn't take just watching her cry any longer. He reached forward pulling the girl down so that they were both sitting on the top step right in front of the door, and let her weep into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head and smiled sadly. "Sakura, you don't have to explain yourself to me," he whispered. "The state of our relationship is just as much my fault as it is yours. We established early in our relationship that if he were to ever come back this would be your mission, but you were so beautiful, so perfect, I couldn't let you by, no matter what. We're young and rash so we made the decisions we did and we'll have to deal with them now." He paused, though her sobbing didn't and he tilted her chin up to look in her face. Wiping some of her tears away, he smiled sincerely and stuck his tongue out playfully, earning a laugh from the distraught girl. "But even through this, I never regret being with Saku-chan. I wouldn't give our time up for the world."

She shook her head, sniffling. "Me either," she murmured, nuzzling into his warmth and resting her forehead on his. He took her small hands in his and held them tightly and she closed her eyes, sighing and laying her head on his shoulder now. "I guess we both have a mutual understanding that our relationship is over now."

"Yeah…" He sighed too, his deep voice resonating in the silence. "The life of a shinobi isn't an easy one," he said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Sakura, are you sure you love Uchiha."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Absolutely."

"As long as you know what you're getting yourself into."

She smirked looking up at him and wrinkling her nose cutely. "I've known that ass long enough to know what I'm getting into, believe me." She stared at him for a long time, before he raised his brow at her with a chuckle.

"What are you thinking about?"

She laughed. "I always pictured myself getting married to you in a few years. It was something like my happy ending." She smiled, turquoise eyes shimmering.

He smiled too. "Except happy endings aren't always given to shinobi."

Her smile did not waver, and she interlaced her fingers in his. "Tadashi, hasn't anyone told you that sometimes you have to make your own happy endings?"

Tadashi was speechless for awhile, his eyes widening, and then he gave her an innocent, sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. "No, I guess not," he chuckled.

Sakura giggled before noticing someone running towards them. It was a young chunin acting as a messenger and the Haruno stood up, knowing the Hokage meant business if she sent a fast messenger. The young boy seemed out of breath as he swiftly handed her a letter.

"A message from the Hokage, Sakura-dono!" he shouted anxiously.

The girl quickly unraveled the letter, her eyes flying over the message and then gasped once she got to the end, her hand reaching towards her mouth. She tried her best to keep her composure in front of the young chunin and then turned towards Tadashi after hearing him ask what was wrong.

"Sasuke is trying to escape. He is already at the village gates." She looked at the messenger with sharp, jade eyes. "Approximately, how long has he been there?"

"O—Only about ten minutes!" answered the messenger. "I was sent out right after Hokage-sama had been notified by those around the village gate. H—He's being held off by ANBU now, but w—we don't know how long that will last."

Sakura cursed inwardly. There was no way they could stop him. He was too powerful. Damn that bastard! How dare he? After she had done everything she could…after she had finally realized that she had loved him all along!

Could it really be because she was so cruel to him this morning? He knew it wasn't his fault, didn't he? Every time she felt like she was able to get on good terms with that…that _idiot_, he went and fucked it up! Did he know how much trouble he could get in if he was caught? What if he wasn't caught; what would the village do without him on their side? It didn't matter so much that he wasn't on their side, than if he was against them. And it would be all her fault too. All because she didn't take care of him; all because she took her eyes off of him for ONE second!

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "It's impossible that he could've gotten away so quickly without me being informed. There are always ANBU stationed around the area where I live. When I allow him to go out on his own, ANBU are notified, and they have a way to track his every move. I don't understand…" If he had gotten past the ANBU, then he would have had to hurt them or enable them in some way…It was against the law to assault a citizen or shinobi. If the person was seriously injured, who _knew_ what kind of trouble the boy would get in? Sakura's eyes widened as she realized something. "Tenten!" she gasped.

Tadashi walked up to the girl, putting a hand on shoulder. "There's no need to worry about her, Sakura. Her unit wasn't even on patrol in your neighborhood today."

"Yeah, but she was just on her way to my apartment when I was on the way here, which means she saw Sasuke. They might be friends, but Tenten wouldn't just let Sasuke pass without my permission." She grunted and turned towards the young boy. "Were medics sent out there?"

"I—I'm not sure."

Sakura took a deep inhale of breath and grasped the brim of her nose between her fingers, eyes closed. She looked at the Fukushima. "Tadashi, is your sister home?"

"Yes."

"Could you please send her to get Hiroki? His medical ninjustu is not too bad and he might be able to help. Ask her to bring back-up from the Konoe clan, as well. Someone who knows completely what they're doing," she ordered and then grabbed his shoulder, getting close enough to him so only he could hear. "Whatever happens stays between you and your sister. Do not worry the rest of your clan over something so small," she warned, keeping eye-contact with the boy.

She looked the chunin's way. "Where is Naruto? Has he been informed?"

"He was said to be at the indoor training fields with his team! Someone was sent the same time I was."

Sakura glared and bit her thumb. "Tch…" What if neither of them could make it in time? He was just about as far as she was. It could take forty minutes to get to the gates and by then… "Alright, thank-you for the message. Report back to the Hokage as soon as possible." She began to walk off hurriedly.

The chunin bowed. "Of course, Sakura-dono." And he disappeared.

"Sakura, where are you going?" asked Tadashi.

"To the village gate," she replied. "Please go to the Hokage for further orders as soon as you're done telling your sister."

The boy opened the door, grabbing her back pack and handing it to her. "Please be careful, Sakura. Don't do anything unnecessary."

Sakura gave Tadashi a confused look before smiling brightly and holding her thumb up. "Hey, I'll be fine. I promise." She started running off again. "Just make sure that you stay safe! Oh, and Tenten and the family too, 'kay?"

Tadashi watched her go, until she was out of sight and then frowned, a concerned look in play. "Sakura…where did you learn to make such big, empty promises?"

--

She hopped over the buildings as fast as her legs could take her, pumping as much chakra into her feet as she could without getting too exhausted for the battle she knew was coming. What would happen if he actually did escape? Sakura would never be able to forgive herself. She would take all the blame; it would be all her fault.

She snarled. She knew if she could just get there…she could do it. She would give her life for her mission, no doubt, and though she loved the Uchiha with all her heart, she would take his life for the sake of her village as well. Because the village _was_ her heart. Without it, she would not be where she was. Without the many people, she wouldn't be _who_ she was. She didn't want these people to fear the worst because _she_ messed up and let the Uchiha go. She would get there, and she would _win_.

Sakura couldn't believe the audacity of this boy. How could he just…just up and _leave_. The bastard! She was so outraged. Why…why did he want to leave her? He had said that he loved her, dammit! He had said... Stop it!

That wasn't what she was suppose to be thinking about right now. Her mission, the lives of her many loved ones were at stake. She didn't know what she would do if Naruto had to watch the Uchiha leave again. It would just tear her heart out. She couldn't bear to see the Kyuubi's bitter, crystal blue tears, filled with sadness, filled with malice at his own self for "not being strong enough" when it had been her fault since the beginning. _She_ was not strong enough; _she_ was the weak one. But now the Uchiha would see she was not one to be messed with. _Not anymore_…

Sakura did a few hand signs and then put two chakra covered fingers up to her head, concentrating on her jutsu. Her mind fished through the whole village as if she were moving at hyper speed until she found the one she needed.

_Ino…Ino, you hear me?_

_**Forehead, what's up? Where are you? What's going on?**_

_Ino, I'm about a half hour away from the village gates. I just left the Fukushima compound. You've heard about Sasuke, haven't you?_

_**Of course! I was getting ready to go there myself. Thirty minutes? What the hell, Forehead?!**_

_I know, but I just found out –sigh— I don't know what to do; I don't think I'll make it in time. You're closest, so it might be time to do that jutsu._

_**That one? Damn, this is serious…Well, if you insist. I don't know when I'll get there, though. At the speed you're going, you might get there before me.**_

_Just start making your way there. Whoever gets there first needs to promise to kick ass. We have to stop him at all costs._

_**You can count on me, Forehead! I'll brief Naruto on the plan!**_

_Thank-you, Ino…_

--

A flash of pink lit through the clearing, flying in the air above the trees.

"Look, it's Sakura. She's here!" shouted a jonin from the ground. All those present, including the surrounded Uchiha looked up to see the pinkette smirk before doing a few aerial spins, and with a battle cry, crashing her heel into the ground, missing the sharingan-wielder only by a little. A huge cloud of dust surrounded the clearing from the impact and then began to clear, showing a jaded pinkette.

The Uchiha was not too far, his ever aloof eyes still on the girl, even through the dust. The ANBU and jonin had backed off after seeing the girl, knowing it was her fight. She looked around, noticing the other kunoichi hadn't made it yet and then smirked once again at the boy.

"Looks like it's just you and me, bub." She pulled out a kunai from her butt pouch and then ran at the boy. "Let's dance." She struck, aiming for his stomach, and he twisted out of the way, dodging yet another jab at his waist by leaping into the air.

Sakura growled, hopping into the air to catch him, throwing a punch his way, which he parried with his hand, making sure to only make contact with her wrist and not her glowing green fist and then flickered away, landing in a tree.

Sakura landed in a squatting position in a tree next to his, molding her chakra to make Shadow Clones. "I might not be worth your sharingan quite yet, but I will be worth your attention!" she declared as two clones made their way towards the Uchiha swiftly. They lunged at him, throwing synchronized punches and kicks his way, though in no specific pattern. Even though he was not using his sharingan, he could still see right through her little disguise. As soon as he dispersed of the shadow clones, she would pop up behind him and strike.

With swift attacks he finished off the clones and then threw a shuriken behind him to hear a clanking sound of wood against wood. His eyes became squinty; that was not what he expected. She had used the Replacement jutsu. So where was she?

He turned around swiftly enough to see a billion kunai flying at him and pulled out his sword, beginning to deflect each one. He looked around once more, still trying to figure out where the girl was. She was quiet; he would give her that. But he would never give her the joy of seeing his sharingan in battle. Not even the woman he loved.

--

She steadied her chakra, watching his every move from behind the tree she was hiding in. Sakura knew if she just waited it out, Naruto would be there soon, and there was power in numbers. She pouted. That idiot, running away and what not. What a bastard! And she was just beginning to think that he loved—

Sakura's thoughts were cut off as she gasped, hearing the whistling sound of a sharp object coming at her. She looked forward just in time to see Sasuke's katana coming towards her face, and pushed off of the tree using only one of her arms. Noticing at the last second that there was lighting coming from the sword, Sakura let go of her hold on the tree with a grunt, freefalling down the side of it. She twisted in the air, landing next to the tree in a squat and turned around just in time to hear the whistling of birds, and a bright, blue light coming her way.

Her breath hitched as she looked into the dark, obsidian depths of the Uchiha's eyes and then at the last second, she jumped in the air and evaded his attack. She smirked down at the guy, before feeling a tight piece of wire wrap around her stomach and pull her into the tree.

She coughed as her back rammed into the trunk of the tree and made the air run out of her lungs. More steel rope came around her and pressed her uncomfortably into the wood. She began to breathe heavily, one eye closed as her chest heaved up and down. Her arms were behind her back and her feet barely touching the ground below. It was then that she noticed the electricity from the katana paralyzing her and draining her of her chakra. Struggle was futile. How had she fallen into such a trap? Her—a _jonin_ falling into a trap like this!

The Uchiha walked forward with the end part of the wire in his hand, holding her tight against the tree. How? When he had seen her coming at him with his Chidori? It was impossible!

"Let me go!" she commanded as she looked into the man's eyes. "Fight me like a real man, you coward!"

"Game's over, Ino, I know it's you."

The girl's eyes widened for a second before she smirked again, a green chakra washing over her body and changing her hair back to its blonde color, and her eyes back to that mischievous azure.

"Well, you caught me. There's no use pretending anymore. My job here is done."

Sasuke should have known that someone would be sent here to waste time if Sakura couldn't make it herself. He knew that Sakura had been with Tadashi this whole time, therefore knowing it would take a little extra time for her to get to the outer gates.

"Hn. Where is Sakura?"

"On her way, lover boy, chill out. We've got a little time before you get your ass handed to you by Forehead," she jeered, leaning forward. "But really, I'm curious as to how you knew it was me. This disguise Sakura and I made is perfect, absolute. Not even if you used your sharingan could you recognize it."

Sasuke's monotone voice rang through the clearing. "I first noticed that you weren't wearing the necklace I gave to Sakura. She had been wearing it before she left the house this morning, but I knew I couldn't base you being a fraud of off that. Secondly, you fell for the trap. Part of why I did this was especially for you, Ino."

"Oh, I'm honored…" deadpanned the girl bitterly, feeling a bit pitiful that he could know such a thing just from some lame trick.

"If you were Sakura, you would know that I need my sharingan to execute my Chidori properly and would've known it was a trap. Besides, your attacks weren't nearly as powerful as hers."

Ino sighed, looking to the side. "Well, you've got to hand it to me. I was never quite fond or good at using my medical nin-jutsu as a weapon. All that I did was from just knowing and observing Forehead over the years…"

The Uchiha only stared at her, growing impatient with the late kunoichi and her annoying, blonde friend. The last thing he wanted to hear was this girl's life story and her little trainings.

"You'll be surprised once you see her. You've taken for granted the sweet Sakura you think you know."

Sasuke snorted, not really paying the girl any attention. His Sakura, anything _but_ sweet and the occasional agitated? He would have to see it to believe it.

Ino chuckled to herself. "You'll see. You'll be sorry…" And instantly after that was said, a kunai flew from behind him and sliced the wire, allowing it to slide off of the Yamanaka's form. She stretched, looking up into the trees behind him with a smirk.

Sasuke turned around with a stoic look plastered on his face only to see a staid expression staring back at him. Jade eyes were dull and hard with no shine. The girl's cream-colored face was blank and emotionless, and she gave off a heartless feel. The determined Naruto he knew was standing behind her, but this girl…he almost believed it was another fake.

"Told you so…" whispered Ino childishly.

But he blocked this out, only looking up at the new Sakura in front of him, gaze not letting go of the eyes that mirrored his own.

A dark voice came from between pink lips. "I believe _I_ am your opponent."

This was not his Sakura.

Step forward: Sakura had finally come; steps back: he didn't like the expression on her face (or lack thereof), and of this Sakura, he was most unsure.

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, finish! I didn't really like this chapter, but I guess that's for you to decide...Luckily for you children I had a day off of school because it was the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur when I did this. At my school we celebrate such things (Well...the jews do...I just have a day off XD)! I indeed love Jews (: Well, I hope you liked it! Only two more chapters left after this!!!

This chapter seemed really cliche...and I'm sorry for that DX I made Sakura cry WAY too much...I think we've learned that Tadashi is a perfect, shoujo prince. I don't know why I decided to make him this way, but that's just how he turned out...

Damn, that Sasuke and that Sakura! Always making me sad because I can never write any fluff between them! STOP FIGHTING YOU TWO! The next chapter will OBVIOUSLY be the fight, but we'll see what the future holds for these two in the last chapter ;)! Plz **REVIEW! THAT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO!**

**I WORKED HARD!**

**REVIEW!**

**LUV U AND LATERZ!**

--SAYURI--


	15. Their Battle

**A/N: **HEY GUYS! I've finally decided to update. There will be very little fluff in this chapter, but bear with me, the next will have a lot :P

I CHANGED MY USERNAME!! I AM STILL PRINCESSSAYURI1!!!!

Just call me Princess ha, jk THX FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, EVERYONE :) YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE…

Enjoy!!!

* * *

Chapter 14: Their Battle

Her gaze was dark, foreboding, so much different than what he was used to. The Uchiha did not falter under her hard eyes, but he did feel slightly uneasy standing in front of this girl he seemed not to know. This couldn't be _his_ blossom, _his _beautiful Sakura. Impossible.

He sent a fleeting glance to her neck to see the jade pendant dangling around her neck and cursed inwardly, not doubting that this was his Sakura. He looked back in her eyes, only to see a mirror image of himself looking back at him. He remembered that gaze, was familiar with it, but not on her—not on someone as pure as Sakura. Her eyes were glazed over, dull, showing no anger. Her body stature was tall and unmoved, her face cool and calm as stone. Right now she had the air of a true shinobi, looking nothing like the idiot behind her who only looked hurt and angry, something he expected her to look like.

Sakura jumped down from the tree she was on and Naruto followed suit, so that they were around fifteen meters in front of Sasuke. Once again the staring continued, until Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Move out of the way, Sakura," he commanded, but he knew that Sakura wouldn't let him pass without a fight—the old Sakura maybe, but not this new, resolved one.

She only stood there, her eyes and face the same, as if she didn't even hear him, and the boy seethed underneath his cool façade.

"I will ask you one more time to _move out of the way_, Sakura," repeated the Uchiha, not liking her empty stare.

Naruto growled, clenching his fists and taking a step forward, but once again, Sakura did nothing but hold her hand out and stop Naruto from taking any more steps.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed and he closed his eyes, using his matchless speed to make for the tree above Sakura, and escape. If she did not love him, then he would leave. There was no reason for him to be here any longer. He had tried everything, and he had failed miserably. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sakura was over him.

Just before Sasuke's feet hit the tree branch, he saw a flicker, before the pink-haired girl was suspended in the air in front of him. Her eyes were still that of steel, before she spun around and sent her right heel into his chin with a grunt.

Sasuke was able to block the hit easily, but due to her strength and his surprise at her being so strong, he rammed into the ground, sliding until he was able to gain his footing. He moved his arms from in front of his face, thanking Kami that he didn't put up his block one second later, knowing it would have ended with a broken wrist instead, but did not show any emotion.

He put his breathing in check and looked up at the girl to see her standing on the tree he was just about to be on. He suppressed the urge to shiver. Could anyone's eyes ever be so cold? It was one thing seeing someone like Orochimaru with eyes like this; it was another seeing _Sakura_—someone so perfect and good, so pure—with those eyes. He supposed Sakura wasn't as pure as she used to be, that she had grown up like the rest of them, but this…this was…

"You really are as thick-headed as you look," said the medic, her voice as hollow as her eyes. "You of _all _people would think that I would take my mission so lightly." She crossed her arms and sighed. "I knew this would happen…"

Sasuke gave the girl a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

Her eyes closed. "You're stubborn and hate when you don't get what you want, Sasuke, but most importantly, you're an immature child." He glared. "You running away again if you didn't get what you wanted—me—was obviously going to happen. All you needed was that little push, the feeling that you couldn't have me."

"Watch your mouth, Sakura."

She raised an eyebrow. "Or what?" He held back the urge to turn on his sharingan, remembering that he had to use it sparingly. "I'm a bit more of opponent now, even you know that. Besides, if you do happen to defeat me, you still have to go up against Naruto." Her eyes narrowed slightly, one of the first expressions he had seen her make in her new state. "You'd turn around and go back to the village peacefully if you knew what was good for you." She sighed. "But I know you won't."

Sasuke didn't want to make this any harder than need be. "Sakura, get out of the way."

"You should just save your breath, Sasuke!" shouted Naruto. Sasuke looked over to the emotional blonde. The Kyuubi's eyes were quivering with unhidden anger and sadness, but his jaw was clenched, trying to hide his uneasiness. "This isn't the Sakura you thought you knew. She definitely won't hesitate to hurt—or even _kill_ you, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha shook his head. "Sakura's mission is to be my bodyguard and medic. I don't believe killing me was part of the contract."

An evil smirk curled on Sakura's plump lips and Sasuke found her being more cynical than impassive. "True change cannot be made if it is bound by laws and limitations, predictions and imaginations," recited the girl. In other words, she was not afraid to go against the rules, if she thought that was the better choice. He gritted his teeth; he knew that phrase. "Better said by—"

"Itachi," cut in the onyx-haired boy harshly. "He said that to me during our fight, how did you know that quote?"

Her face was back to its serene, unmoved state. "You dreamt about him when I was working on your eyes. Who do you think triggered your little dream sequences? Your surgery was also used as an interrogation session," explained Sakura.

"You little—"

"Welcome back to Konoha, Sasuke. Our government is twisted, and the girl of your dreams is the exact opposite of what you expected. I'm not your "little Sakura", and I never was. I am shinobi." Her cool gaze narrowed as she jumped off the tree and sped towards him with a fist aiming at his face. He easily parried it and backed up, flipping out of the way.

Sakura easily twisted her body, swinging her leg at his face with a speed he hadn't ever seen the girl use before. Sasuke didn't let it even graze him, flickering away and behind the girl. She "hmphed", following after him and pulling out a kunai from her back pouch. Landing on the ground next to him, she lurched forward, bringing her kunai down hard at his bodice, and Sasuke quickly pulled out his chokuto, stopping her weapon with his own. She evaded his attack and went in for another thrust, only for him to catch her again.

They looked eachother in the eyes, both with impassive, strong stares that didn't waver. Sakura grunted, as she used her chakra for more strength to push down on Sasuke's sword, his chokuto coming dangerously close to his face. The sound of their breath hitching and their weapons scraping against eachother was all that was heard. If he were to use all of his strength, he would be able to fend her off, but without chakra he did not stand a chance.

All his chakra reserves would have to go to when he felt it was time to use his sharingan, which still wasn't in its best shape yet. All in all, he could probably only use it for about fifteen minutes straight.

Sakura pushed a little harder, seeing how close she was to his face and then retracted her arms and hopped back when she saw lighting making its way up the sword. Keeping her composure, she slid swiftly to his side, bent down on one of her hands and sent a kick to his wrist, intending to knock the sword out of his hand. Sasuke moved his hand to dodge it, and then brought his blade down on her with the lightning still around it.

She gasped slightly, holding her kunai with her mouth and hurriedly doing a few hand signs. "Doton: Doryuheki," she said quietly, the hard look still on her face. Suddenly a rock wall came up over her, blocking his hit, and then disappeared as well as the wall.

The boy looked around, trying to figure out where the pinkette had gone, closing his eyes and only using his ears. He smirked, finding her chakra signature, and using his Kirin to send electricity to the area where Sakura was. He heard a shrill yell as Sakura fell from a tree with a disgusting crack following her landing.

Sasuke cautiously walked up to the shivering body of the medic, only to have it poof away. He should've not expected the girl to go down that easily. Not that he did. He heard the slicing sound of metal through the air and did a few hand signs, turning around.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." He took a deep breath and instantly a large fireball excited his mouth, burning and stopping the barrage of weapons coming at him. The fireball went past the burned objects and towards the girl. Her eyes widened; the fireball was so big!

She turned and sped the opposite way, trying to dodge it, but it followed her. There was no shaking it. Quickly, she did more hand signs and turned back to face the ball of fire in mid-air.

"Suiton: Huiachi!" Water shot from her hands in a jet and dispersed of the fireball, heading for the Uchiha. He flipped backward, dodging the short range attack as the pinkette, landed on the ground, panting.

Shit. She hadn't thought he would use such powerful fire techniques. High level fire jutsu could only be beaten by higher level water techniques, and they weren't near any water. That meant the water was coming from only her chakra and the water within her. She was an earth person herself. If he kept this up instead of his lightning jutsu…

She kept her cool under his aloof gaze and stood up straight. "Naruto," she called.

The blonde, who had stayed a safe-distance away from the lovebirds', knowing it was _their_ fight, widened his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Just checking to make sure you're watching. This might end up being your fight."

"What?! But Sakura-chan—"

"No 'but's. This is a mission, and I expect you to complete it if I am unable to."

Sasuke smirked. " 'If'? Don't be so sure; you won't be able to win."

"I don't need mouth from the guy who can't even use his kekkei genkai. The only thing that's kept him alive thus far," said the girl sharply, eyes serene but dark.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You will learn to _shut your mouth_."

The girl grunted in disapproval before running towards him, a green fist behind her. The Uchiha watched her, too egotistical to ready himself for the attack. Just as she was about three yards in front of him, she took a quicker step—something he hadn't expected—and was suddenly upon him.

A sword made of lightning immediately entered his hand and he jabbed forward. Sakura looked down at the sword. With her quickness, she could easily evade it, but by doing that she would miss the opportunity to punch him into next Saturday. She sidestepped as the blade sliced through the very outside of her hip, above the bone, and with a battle cry, brought her glowing fist forward.

Seeing what the girl was doing, Sasuke tried his best to dodge the blow, but ended up grazing her fist, which was enough to send him through a few trees. The lightning blade dispersed as blood shot from the wound on Sakura's hip. She closed her eyes, hissing at the pain and the stinging feeling of where the electricity had sent angry messages through her body.

The pinkette pressed a glowing hand on her hip and closed up the wound. It was a clean cut, but if it bled too much, she could lose a lot of blood. Those damaged nerve endings would have to be dealt with later; when she had chakra to lose.

She followed the fallen trees to where Sasuke lay on the ground in front of the one that had stopped him, a dent in the tree from where he had hit it. He stood weakly, and before he could even find his bearings, Sakura was on him again.

She lifted her leg high above him, and brought it down, but he dodged it with ease. Her glowing fists pounded at him, but he blocked and parried each one, sending his own. With that cold, expressionless stare, she mimicked his ferocity and went for a kick straight to his gut.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and caught the hard, chakra-filled kick before it made contact, and twisting it, the girl going with it as to not injure her ankle, and then did more handsigns.

"Fuiton: Hana Kiri Mai!" Suddenly a whirlwind of flowers shot at the boy, forcing him to let go of the girl and do hand signs of his own, the sharp winds and petals cutting him.

As soon as Sakura saw him using tiger hand seal, she cursed herself for using a wind technique. "Katon: Karyu Endan." A long missile of flames shot at the girl, hitting her in the chest and forcing her back into a tree as she felt a sharp pain in her arm.

She rammed into the tree, causing it to shake violently, and then fell to the ground in a heap of pink. Her breathing became haggard, as she tried to catch her breath from the attack. Such a powerful mid-ranged justsu used in such short-ranged, hand-to-hand combat ought to have _killed_ her. She used her arms to shakily push herself up against the tree, feeling a bone jostle around in her shoulder. One false move, and (seeing as the bone hand practically broken in half) the sharp bone could've forced its way through her skin. She thanked Kami that it hadn't done that on her way up.

She sent chakra to her arm, molding the fracture pieces of bones back into their places as she blew remnants of her hair that had fallen out of her braid out of her face. She was just breathing normally again, when her eyes widened and she rolled away from the tree she was leaning on and a lightning blade shot through it.

She was in a squatting position, staring at the tree now with a huge sword hole in it, her right hand still mending the bone in her left arm. She didn't have the time to finish as Sasuke prodded his sword at her, only for her to jump into the air. Leaving his katana in the ground he followed her, dodging the shuriken with paper bombs attached that he threw at her.

Sakura barely caught the crafty eyes of her opponent as he disappeared, before she felt him behind her. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she flickered away as quickly as she could, going back towards the ground.

"Kirin," said the boy from above her and the girl sent chakra to her feet in order to land sideways on the tree as she watched the lightning hit his chokuto on the ground, sending electricity throughout the whole area and hitting anything that stood on the grass. Sakura cursed inwardly as it made its way up the tree, and she had nowhere to go.

She screamed as the lightning struck her, hitting all her nerves, and making her body act up as she hit the ground. "Dammit," she cursed. Again she found it hard to breathe as the boy neared her, but she couldn't work her body.

Finally, as the boy was right next to her, she willed herself to stand and reach into her pocket, find a paper bomb, and throw it to the ground. She ran and hid while smoke filled the whole are, her glowing green hand reaching up to her heart, and filling her body with healing chakra.

She squatted behind a tree, disbelief and hurt written on her face. She took deep breaths, on the borderline of wheezes, and shut her eyes. That was close: though the lightning had, in fact, reached some part of her lungs, it could have reached her heart and stopped it if she hadn't destroyed the electricity so soon. She leaned against the back of the tree, making sure to hide her chakra signature as she caught her breath again.

Impossible. The boy hadn't used his sharingan yet, and he was already beating her ass. She would admit that she hadn't used her ace yet either though. Sakura got up and bounded away from the tree as it was engulfed in flame and then hopped up into a tree, so she was looking down on the boy as he came into sight. She sent more chakra to her arm, to ease the pain, her ever impervious gaze still locked with his.

"I always knew I'd have to go up against you one day. I've been training for this day for a very long time. I've been training to be your _perfect opponent_," said the girl.

"Oh? And how's that working for you?" asked the boy, a sarcastic smirk on his face.

Her eyes sent him a small, pointed glare. "I'm not dead yet," she replied.

"If you're going to do some "special" technique, you probably shouldn't be using all that chakra on your arm," smart-mouthed Sasuke.

"Hm. Chakra's not something I'm so worried about right now." She smirked cynically. "I've been training with Lee."

Sasuke gave the girl a confused look as she reached into her boots and pulled out two identical looking blocks of metal. She tossed them around in her hand a bit, before letting them drop to the ground.

"Oops," she murmured with a shrug, as if it were accidental before the two small blocks hit the ground with a huge thud, breaking the earth and falling deep down into the crater they made themselves.

Sasuke stared at the destruction the metals had caused, remembering the many fights he had seen Lee in. "How long have you had those weights?"

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Around eight years."

"Ah." _Damn_…

Instantly the girl shot from the branch with lightning speed and ended up upon the boy as she threw a kick at him. The force and speed at which she had done so nearly broke his left wrist when he went to block the blow. He heard something behind him, and then in front, and then to the right, and then to the left. Damn, she was SO fast! Suddenly, a jab came at his face from behind, and he blocked it with his katana, but Sakura broke through hitting him square in the jaw and knocking him to the other side of the clearing. Luckily, there were barely in trees to go through since most of them had been gone through already.

Sasuke brought his hand to his jaw from his spot on the ground and moved it around to make sure it wasn't broken. While it wasn't, he was sure it was swollen and bruised by now. He heard a rustling in the trees above him and he shook the stars from his eyes to get a clearer look. Again the sounds rang around him when, in an instant's notice, the girl was above him, poised and ready for another punch. Sasuke flashed away just in time to evade the strike as a fissure appeared where smooth ground once was.

The last Uchiha glared at the kunoichi in front of him and tired to dodge as she came at him again, this time with hands covered in a blue chakra. "Chakura no Mesu," she said quietly. She swiped at him once and then ducked one of his hits to strike at his leg. She, of course, hit him easily and then flickered away, leaving the boy in pain.

It was harder to walk now; he knew one of the muscles in his leg had been severed. Sakura must have been working on her Chakra Scalpel technique. Never had he seen anyone with such precision in that technique since Kabuto.

As the girl began to run at him again, he did a familiar hand sign. "Kirin!" He shouted once more, but the girl dodged every single stream of electricity he threw at her. She was _faster _than even his Kirin now, which was just as fast—maybe even _faster_—than his Chidori. He growled, but it was cut short as he was sent flying after getting kicked again by the medical jonin. He stood up with a disgruntled look, but then calmed himself, going back to his aloof stare as he got into a ready position, sweat gathering on his brow.

"Still not ready to show your sharingan yet?" inquired the girl. The boy did not answer. "Then you won't mind if I end this a little early, do you?" jeered Sakura as she rubbed her right wrist.

The Uchiha gave her a cold look as she closed her eyes and did a hand seal that he had never seen before. _What…is this…?_ She held her hand down with her left one after finishing the seal as a silverish-green chakra began to form around her right hand.

"It never seemed fair that you and Naruto always had Chidori and Rasengan, so I've made my own powerful jutsu." He looked at her with question, her jade orbs giving off a look of resolve. The ground on which she stood began to break and float up around her as her chakra began to sky rocket.

"Naimentekishi!" She shot off towards him, sending shards of earth flying after her. He tried to ready himself, but it was all in vain, even if he tried to dodge her…

Just at the right moment he sidestepped, but the girl only grunted, moved to where he was and shot her arm through his stomach with one swift thrust. Silence reigned before the sound of Sasuke gasping and throwing up blood occurred.

"My Naimentekishi kills from the inside out. Once it hits you, you will have a certain death. Only _I _have the antidote," explained the girl somberly, her taciturn persona returning. "I win."

The boy grunted something inaudibly and then looked up at the girl with a wicked smirk. "Y…You do not…win…S—Sakur…ako."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the boy. It was then that she noticed the sharingan swirling in those depths. She gasped as the Sasuke she _thought_ she had hit with her jutsu turned into a goopy, black substance like tar, and then grabbed onto her forearms. She gave the goop a disgusted look, wrinkling her nose at it and trying to pull away, but the black substance did not budge. Some of the tar-like substance became a black tunnel, while the other half still held firmly onto the pinkette. She growled, pulling harder against its grasp, but it held tight, sending other strings of black tar at her to get a firmer hold on her.

Sakura let out a small squeal as a huge piece wrapped around her waist, and gave her the final tug into the darkened tunnel. The last thing she heard from the outside world was Naruto calling her name.

When she opened her eyes, she was covered in the black tar substance and glued to some sort of wall. The skies around her were red, and black crows seemed to be flying through said red sky and perched on other black objects. She tried to move away from the tar once again, but it restricted her from moving, only holding on tighter.

"Struggling won't work," said a voice from within the shadows. Sakura looked up to see the Uchiha in front of her, smirk in play and sharingan pinwheel rotating.

"Hm. Oh really?" asked the girl softly, eyes cold and sharp.

"_Really_."

More footsteps were heard from behind where the black tar was as Sakura disappeared and a new Sakura walked forward. Though Sasuke had known the one he had caught was a fake—she was a S-class genjutsu specialist, afterall—he was still surprised that Sakura could defy his genjutsu. He glared slightly at the girl.

"Come on, Sasuke," spoke the real Sakura. "I've always been best at genjutsu. This is just pitiful." Sasuke was about to take a step forward, when Sakura held her hand out. "I wouldn't move if I were you." He noticed cherryblossoms flying in front him. Sakura pointed down at his body, and sure enough there were those damn cherryblossoms wrapping around him. "Thorns," she said simply, as if he hadn't noticed them in the first place.

He smirked again as crows clipped the branches from his body with their beaks, letting him loose. "This is still my genjutsu, Sakura; you can't just take charge as you wish."

She crossed her arms and looked around impassively. "You can do better than this, Sasuke," she sighed.

He shrugged. "Not without cheating."

"Cheating?" she questioned.

"I was told not to use my Mangekyo. Doctor's orders." He gave her a knowing look.

"But you have already cheated." He gave her a questioning look. "You have run away from Konoha and harmed its citizens after agreeing to live here in peace and under our terms. Cheating."

"No, _lying_."

"You do not wish to live in Konoha?"

"Not anymore. Not without you." Sakura rolled her eyes and exhaled deeply. "But if you want to play _that_ game, you would be cheating too."

"How so?" she asked.

"Your mission was to take care of me and escort me throughout Konoha. You're trying to kill me, Sakura."

"_My mission_ was to not only protect you, but to protect Konoha _from_ you. And Konoha always comes first, no matter what," explicated the pinkette. "Besides, I'm fighting by your brother's rules."

Sasuke smirked. "As am I."

Suddenly, both cherryblossoms and crows collided as they ended up back in the forests right outside of Konoha again. Sakura looked down at her right arm and cursed; her jutsu had a few side effects. One being that her right arm could become weak and overused. She grabbed it as it started throbbing and then looked at Sasuke. Even though he was just as good—if not better—than her at covering up pain and emotion, she could still tell he was at his last run. They both were.

She could finish this if she used her jutsu one more time, but she couldn't do that with her arm in this kind of shape. This was one of her first times using this jutsu in battle, and she still needed a lot of practice with it in order to fully master it. She gritted her teeth together.

"Naruto!" she called.

"I got it!" responded the boy as he leapt down from the trees, making two shadow clones. The onyx-haired boy got ready to fight as the pinkette stood up straight. "Go, Sakura-chan, I've got him!"

The medic nodded at the Kyuubi container and then flickered off. The girl sat behind a tree a little way's off from the two boys and held her hand to her chest, breathing in and out deeply through her nose, and whimpering slightly in agony. There was a burning sensation going on through her whole arm and it took her everything not to scream. She had not perfected the jutsu yet, but it would work well in immobilizing the Uchiha. _If I don't watch out, it might end up immobilizing me too…_ thought the girl bitterly.

She sent soothing chakra through it, not knowing if she would have enough time or energy to fully heal it anyway and then took out some tape from her pouch. Taping it could possibly help with the pain she had now, and it could minimize the pain she would have by the end of the fight. She quickly taped each finger, before taping the whole hand. Her arm had already been taped from earlier that day, so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Seeing that she still had a little time, she began to soothe and heal her hand a little more, sighing in relief.

"RASENGAN!"

"Chidori!"

She stood from her spot, surprise and excitement, showing in her eyes. Naruto had gotten Sasuke to use his Chidori already? She had almost forgotten how far the young blonde had come. She bounded to where they were and came just in time for them to both be panting after their signature techiniques.

Sakura narrowed her eyes down at her opponent and close friend. This was it. "Thanks, Naruto. I've got it from here."

"Right!" said Naruto, making his way back into the trees. She was so grateful to Naruto. She knew how much he wanted to fight Sasuke himself, how it had always been his dream to bring Sasuke back himself. But he knew this was Sakura's mission, and how much it meant to her to complete her missions for Konoha, for her friends, and for herself as well. Naruto was her best and most prized friend, and she would never give him up for the world. Which was part of the reason she had to do this: so Naruto could be happy with Sasuke back in their lives. As much as he was a pain in the ass to _her_, he was like a brother to Naruto.

"Chakura no Mesu," she said again, diving at him with her chakra-covered hands. He easily sprang away, while using his sharingan, though Sakura could tell he was already having difficulties keeping it activated.

With each jab she took, his blocks became slower and sloppier, but he was still blocking and had already dished out a few off his own attacks, hitting her at times. She was tired and getting lazy as well. This needed to end soon.

He sent a kick at her face to which she dodged by stepping back. Her head snapped around as she heard a cracking sound and the whizzing of iron past her ear. She moved out of the way of the trap, and while her attention was on that, she didn't notice electricity striking her in the back. She yelped from surprise. The strike sent shocks through her body and paralyzed her as she fell to the ground, but not before getting grabbed by wires and forced into a tree. She blanched as she realized the trap she had just gotten herself into. _Dammit!_

As the wire strings tightened into her skin, she groaned in pain.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu." She felt the flame coming from across the wire, but couldn't do anything in her paralyzed state. _Come on, Sakura, MOVE! _She could feel the heat come upon her. _MOVE!_

She forced chakra into her hands and lifted them up so she could awkwardly do a few handsigns. "Hyoton: Shishou no Hashi!" Ice enveloped Sakura's body, so that she looked like a sculpture made by the gods and then went about the wire, spreading out until it engulfed all the fire.

Sakura tugged at the wire, breaking it, as the ice dissolved, going back into her body, so that she was fully hydrated again. She took a deep breath as she landed on the ground in front of the Uchiha and stared him straight in the eye. The one who won this _last_ battle would take it all. This person would _live_.

The staring continued until Sakura brought up her hand. "Naimentekishi!" Her hand began to glow its silver green.

"Chidori!" shouted the boy, the sound of birds chirping filling the whole area.

They both advanced on each other. The speed and strength of the two met in the middle when they reached each other, sending a huge wave of chakra kilometers out. They both pushed with all their might at one another, before swiftly going through each other and ending on opposite sides, backs to one another.

It was silent for a good fifteen seconds, before one of them fell to the ground with a huge plopping sound, and then there was another pregnant pause…

…

…

…

…

…

"SAKURA-CHAN!!"

The girl was shaking, shivering, and face down on the ground, blood rushing from both her mouth and her stomach. Her hair was fully out of its braid, cascading wildly around her bodice.

Sasuke closed his eyes, not turning around to look at what he had done to his perfect angel, his Sakura...and took a step away. Naruto was about to hop down from his spot on the tree when Sakura lifted herself up on one of her arms and reached out with her other one. "Wait," she whimpered quietly, hoarsely. He paused. "What have we done to you? Why are you trying to leave us?" Her voice wavered, and she paused, saying in a quiet voice, "Why are you trying to leave _me…_?"

He smirked and let out a snide chuckle. "Why am I trying to leave you, eh?" He paused as well. "Because, Sakura...you have made me weak…" And with that, blood spurted from his stomach and mouth and he fell to the ground. "And I've given up…I…don't know…what to…do to make you…mine…" Each pause was filled with an even more haggard breath.

Sakura reached out her hand again. "Sasuke…" she moaned worriedly, as she watched him bleed out, not even caring that she was in the same—most likely, _worse_—shape than he was. "Naruto," she said as loudly as she could. "Go get help."

"O—Of course, Sakura-chan! Don't worry; I'll be quick! Don't move around too much!" he shouted as he rushed away as hastily as he could.

Sakura looked back at the boy, and with a determined face on, began crawling towards the Uchiha.

His breath hitched as he heard her getting closer. "Sakura!" he rasped. "Don't move too much, you've already lost too much blood." She paid no heed to his commands and continued until she got to him, until her whole world was going bleary. "Stop," he whispered, as a last resort.

She reached into her pouch with cold, shaky fingers and pulled out a small tube with a liquid in it. "This is…the antidote to…my jutsu," she swallowed to wet her throat. "I'm…the only one…who can…who can heal it…remember?" He nodded as she lifted it to his lips and made him swallow it by tipping up his chin. She then slowly brought her hands to his stomach as small amounts of healing chakra began to mend his wound.

He quickly grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"

"If I don't heal the wound…" Her eyes were closing. "You could lose too much blood."

"If you keep on like this, you'll _die_, Sakura," warned the boy. The pinkette was _so cold_. "Why…I thought you didn't…care about me, thought you didn't like me…"

She pushed herself on top of him with the last of her wavering strength, before lightly kissing his bloodied lips. "You idiot." Sakura smiled, both of their eyes closing and their appendages going limp. "How could you not see…that you were…all I cou—could think about…since day one…?" And she was out.

Step forward: My Sakura had _always_ cared for me; steps back: He had finally seen the true Sakura, the shinobi Sakura, and it wasn't what he had expected.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, that wasn't the longest chapter, but it was very hard for me! I really hate writing action scenes…they bother me and I'm really not that good at them… Anyway, once again, thank-you for all your loving reviews! **Please REVIEW some more for this chap**! The next chapter is the last one omg, I never thought I'd make it this far :D thx for everything guys, I really enjoyed writing this for you!

If you were wondering, Sakura's jutsu literally means "Inner Death" so...yup :) I made that shizz up!

REVIEW!! IT AINT OVA YET!!

Luving me's like…

-chewingonpearls


	16. Don't Let It Go to Your Head

**A/N: **Hey, children! This happens to be the last installment of One Step D: I know, the tears are mutual! Anyway, I'd just like to thank ALL my reviewers for sticking with me and pumping me up enough to get my lazy ass up and actually finish a story for once…so, ya…**THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!**

**theduckoverthere, moninaca, BrokenWing-FallenButterfly, Luna Rei Harmony, sonia, TragedyDawl, angelatmidnight, LilyVampire, Desperate Fool, MYinnerNINJA, QuotingShakespeare...ALL THE REST OF YA'LL! I could go on forever! Special Thx for staying with me for so long...i love u :)**

**Enjoy my sweets!**

* * *

_So what if I came clean_

_And told you all you mean to me_

_So what if I meant every word I said_

_Baby, don't let it go to your head_

_So what if I write your name_

'_Cause you're always on my brain_

_In my heart, I paint it crimson red_

_Baby, don't let it go to your head_

_Don't be getting any big ideas_

_Let me make it clear_

_Just 'cause I can't go on_

_Just 'cause I doubt when you're gone_

_Just 'cause I think of you in bed_

_Don't let it go to your head_

_If I look in your eyes_

_One, two, too many times_

_And memorized every word said_

_Don't let it go to your head_

_So what if I want to kiss_

_From your toes up to your lips_

_It don't mean that you've had me yet_

_You're gonna be good I bet_

_I'm the one who's in control here _

_Let me make it clear…_

_I had porcelain doll; I held onto it way too tightly_

_But when it broke, I swore I'd never hold on to something that tightly again_

_Don't let it go to your head…_

_-__**Don't Let It Go to Your Head, Fefe Dobson**_

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Chapter 15: Don't Let It Go to Your Head

It had been two very quiet days. Two very _lonely_ days. Not that the girl had been alone, at all. She had been in the hospital with more than enough people visiting her and worrying over her than she had ever _needed_. But she was lonely without _him_. She was empty without him there, almost to the point of where she could barely crack a smile without seeing him and checking if he was okay.

That didn't keep her from not smiling (for it was impossible to hold it in whenever Naruto and Ino had come around), but she felt as if she would be never _truly_ satisfied until she saw the Uchiha. She knew the boy _was okay_, but it was a matter of seeing it with her own eyes. For months he had been her shadow, and she was always there to gripe at him and heal him along the way, so two days was a _long time_—even if she had been out of it for half the time.

Luckily, she was a medical ninja, and by using her cell rejuvenation before the fight, she was actually in better shape than the Uchiha, and therefore, was out of the hospital while he was still there. She was so glad she was out, though. She never really understood why Kakashi hated the hospital so much until she was actually _in_ the hospital bed, enduring the predicament herself. It was a grueling and _lonely_ predicament, and she found herself feeling helpless more than once.

Sure the girl had been injured innumerous times in her life, but she was always able to fix mostly anything on the battlefield, and if not then, with a little help from another medical ninja. She was never in the bed being healed because there were always other people that were incapable of healing themselves, so they were therefore more important than her. Sakura could be bleeding to death on the floor and see a friend with a broken bone, and still want to heal that person first. It was a blessing and a curse.

She thanked Kami that she had made it out alive, though. Even _with_ her Cell Rejuvenation jutsu, she probably wouldn't have survived a _minute_ if he was going full-out with his sharingan, even less if he had used his Mangekyo. The thought of being caught in the midst of his Susanoo or Amaterasu made shivers run up her spine. If he had used more of his kekkei genkai, than her trying to keep her pride and fight him would not have gone down so well. It would easily turn into a slaughter, and even Naruto would've had a hard time.

He always could have used it if he had wanted to, and by restraining himself, Sakura saw that he actually cared about her a lot. If he _really_ wanted to leave, the boy would've left and that's why Tsunade and the council were so scared of this boy. He had become so powerful.

But he cared.

Sakura had to smile at that. She cared too. She still had feelings for the boy, after all. As soon as she came to, the first thing on her mind was to go see if Sasuke was okay. When she asked to see him, they told her he was alright, made her rest in the bed for a few more hours (with a few visitors here and there), and then rushed her off to the Hokage for an exclusive look over (the woman was too much like a second mother sometimes) and a talk concerning her mission with the Uchiha. It was a long and horrid talk, but towards the end, she was able to level with her shishou. What Sasuke had done had affected her in numerable ways, but it would affect him too.

She would see him soon, in about ten minutes or so. But it would be a not so fun meeting with the Hokage there as well. But first, she had to meet with her students. Since she had been so badly injured, she was not in any way ready to travel all the way to Suna, and train with her students there for the Chuunin Exams. Her injuries required a few more days recuperation before she was _even_ suppose to be _walking_, but the chick was stubborn, and promised her students she would meet up with them soon.

Sakura first wondered if she should just have her students go down with Naruto as their guide, but later realized that her students and his might want to do a little teaching and training on the road, and when they finally _got there_ her students would still be without a sensei for at least a day. Instead, Yamato was being sent as a stand in, and Sakura found herself feeling relieved. Her first choices were either Kakashi or Yamato, and to see that Tsunade cared about the future of Konoha _so much_ that she was sending one of her best shinobi out of the village during a time like this made Sakura smile to herself.

Besides, it all worked out. Since Naruto was out of the village and his top priority was to take care of the children rather than himself, it put him a very vulnerable position. She was pretty sure Akastuki was still after the Nine Tails and who better to send than someone who could both protect Naruto, and hold back the beast within him if necessary.

When she just a few meters away from the gates entering Konoha, her genin squad noticed her and walked up to her with gasps and smiles.

"Sensei, you came!" welcomed Hiroki.

"It's been awhile, sensei, are you feeling alright?" asked Yasashi, worry apparent on his voice.

Sakura smiled upon seeing her students. "I'm fine," she said softly. "How are you guys?" she questioned, looking over the genin as if she were their mothers.

"We're fine!" answered both Yasashi and Hiroki, but the girl was silent. She had a strange look on her face, as if she didn't know whether to cry or smile and Sakura tried to look her in the eye.

"Masami-chan…how are you feeling?"

The girl easily disregarded the elder kunoichi's question as her blank stare continued. "Did he give you that…?" she asked hoarsely. Sakura could hear the uneasiness and tears in her throat.

The med-nin knew the 'he' her student had been referring to as her lips thinned, her gaze going to the pendant around her neck. "He did."

Masami waited awhile before her eyebrows furrowed and she cocked her head to the side, a sad smile gracing her lips. "It's beautiful," she compliment. It was then that Sakura understood that her little girl was growing up and accepting that things couldn't always go the way that she had so previously planned.

Hiroki wrapped a comforting arm around his fiancé's shoulder and Yasashi smiled that shy smile that he always does. Sakura laughed shortly and crossed her arms.

"Here I was going to tell you to take care of your teammates, Masami, and they're sitting here taking care of _you_."

"What's so wrong with us taking care of her?" asked Yasashi, albeit offended.

Masami closed her eyes and pouted, looking away with her arms crossed. "It's just that boys are stupid, right, sensei?" She gave Sakura a knowing look.

Sakura smiled, her eyes softening at the only female in the group. "Right." It was the first time she saw Masami act like herself in awhile though, the Masami she knew and loved acted a little more mature.

"Wait!" shouted Yasashi. "You mean to say that you think we're _stupid_? That's great advice for the Chuunin Exams. Thanks, Sakura-sensei…" he said with a pout.

Sakura giggled and knitted her eyebrows together, closing her eyes. "Ah—not you two!" She ruffled the two guy's hair between her fingers, before pinching their cheeks a little roughly. "You guys are my guys, so that doesn't apply, right?"

Yasashi blushed crimson while Hiroki blanched and backed away, his cheeks also tinted a faint pink. "Sen_sei_!" he whined, rubbing his cheek.

The Haruno ceased her laughter as jade met with violet, then with white, then with a green more vibrant than her own. "Listen, guys," she started sweetly. "I'm sorry I won't be able to go with you down to Suna. I promise I'll be down there in a couple of days or so. At least in time for you to fight in the Prelims if necessary."

"Don't worry about it, sensei, we understand you need rest from having to beat Uchiha Sasuke's ass!" said Yasashi proudly, his hands on his hips and a sly look in his eye.

Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Oh, I think we _both_ handed each other the other's ass…" she mumbled thinking back to the fight. She twitched slightly when she felt a small pain in her side, hissing as her hand made its way to her hip.

"Are you alright, sensei?" inquired the caring Hyuga.

Sakura strained a smile, standing all the way up again. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm still a little sore and pretty tired," she replied, though "_a little sore_" and "_pretty tired_" wasn't even scraping the surface.

"Are you sure?" asked Masami slowly, giving Sakura an awkward look. "Yasashi's been working on his healing nin-jutsu; he could help," she offered and the blonde nodded his head.

The pinkette shook her head. "No, save your chakra. Don't waste it on me." She gingerly looked at her students and grinned. "Be careful, okay, guys? Don't do anything your sensei wouldn't do, ne?" she joked, sticking out her tongue.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure they won't."

Sakura turned around to see Yamato as well as Naruto and his genin squad. She smiled at the two before nodding at the brown-haired man. "Thank-you again for seeing my squad to Suna, Yamato-taichou, I'm really grateful."

He nodded his head at her, crossing his arms. "No problem, Sakura." His voice was so calming and it reminded her of her days as a chunin, happy and hopeful of Sasuke returning home. _Be careful what you wish for… _she thought cynically.

She said goodbye to her students once more before running into Naruto's arms and wishing him luck. They exchanged parting words and he looked her over asking if she was feeling better and after she nodded and told him she was fine, she left.

On her way to her next meeting with the Hokage she saw the Uchiha. He was walking pretty smoothly, but Sakura could tell he was a little stiff and sore like her. When they finally walked up to each other, the Haruno was surprised and couldn't stop her hand from lifting to his face.

She smiled sadly. "I was so worried. I'm glad you're okay," she whispered, letting out a sigh of relief. They both had been so close to death…she almost thought it was pure luck that both of them were standing together right now.

He grabbed the small hand she had placed on his countenance and kissed it lovingly. "Hn. I'm fine." He gave her a look over like Naruto had. "How are you?"

She nodded slowly, still reassured and in a land of her own knowing that she hadn't killed the boy. Though her mission came first, him dying was an unwanted casualty. She would definitely miss him—ah, the _Konoha council_ would miss him if he died. It would be a tragedy, for sure…

"I'm fine," she answered quietly.

He interlaced his fingers in hers and if she was seeing correctly, there was a miniscule smile etching its way onto his face. "Then I am glad as well."

They walked hand in hand the rest of the way to the tower.

Sakura frowned, looking down. She knew once they reached the Hokage that this happiness would not last long…not long at all.

* * *

Sakura knocked on the big, wooden doors of the Hokage's room, and opened it once she was called in.

The Hokage sat at her desk, hands clasped over it and Shizune by her side. It was odd to see that there was no sake on the woman's desk, but she still had a leisurely smile on. To Sakura's surprise, it did not look forced. Usually, when the woman had very important news to share she wasn't donning some _smile_.

The pink-haired medic bowed nonetheless towards her shishou. "Hokage-sama, we are here as you have requested." When she looked back up, she glanced at her teacher's eyes. They weren't the shiny honey-colored orbs the pinkette had grown used to, but instead a dreary bronze that Sakura loathed seeing in her shishou's eyes. Her smile was faked; that was one thing the Haruno took from that glance. Sakura had learned that trick from the best.

The horrible thing was that Tsunade probably didn't even know she was faking a smile right now. She had had so much practice in the past that sometimes her facial expressions just went on auto pilot.

"Good morning, Sakura. Sasuke," she nodded towards the boy. "It's nice to see that you are still…_breathing_." She gave him a look up and down, a slightly distasteful look appearing on her face. Now _that_ expression she _meant_.

The boy bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama," he greeted curtly.

The chesty woman closed her eyes as her smile seemed to widen, and she took a deep breath. "So, Uchiha Sasuke…you racked up quite a few crimes a couple days ago." She leaned back in her chair. "You are aware that two days ago, you decided to try and escape from Konohagakure _once again_, and by doing so, you have broken the pact that you had with us and have lost our trust. I am correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied politely, eyes bored but reverentially agreeable.

She smirked. "Good. With this you have _also_ injured a citizen shinobi of Konohagakure _and_ disarmed and disabled countless other shinobi of Konohagakure. Stop me if I'm wrong."

The onyx-haired boy glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the girl with her gaze fixed forward, no emotions playing out on her face. Sasuke shrugged. "Correct so far."

"Dandy," she exclaimed dryly with another snide smirk. She stood from her chair and walked around her desk with her hands crossed under her breasts. "And though you've been in a lawless land like Sound and have worked with a _lawless_ organization like Akatsuki with the help of _lawless_ comrades like those of Team Hebi," she said lackadaisically with a small chuckle. "…you do understand what happens when you _break_ laws, don't you?"

"Taka."

Tsunade raised a blonde brow. "Pardon me?"

"By the time we were with Akatsuki, we were going by the name 'Hawk'," stated the boy emotionlessly.

She gave the boy an amused look. "Taka, then." She laughed softly. "Do you _really_ think this is the time to be a smart ass, Sasuke?" He only looked forward with those predetermined eyes. "You're so lucky you have people like Sakura and the council who care about you because if it weren't for them you'd be doing up to five years in Konohagakure Federal Prison for shit like that."

The boy gave the Godaime a questioning look.

"The council, your _precious_ Sakura, and I talked about your sentence and have come up with two punishments we find suitable—that is _if_ you would still like to be a citizen of the Leaf again someday…"

"Yes, ma'am, I do."

"Alright, then. Your first choice is, _my personal favorite_, federal prison for up to five years. The second one, which is one that The Council and Sakura have picked for you, is a mission that'll show your loyalty to Konohagakure," explicated the woman, her eyes hard on his.

The Uchiha looked down for awhile and then at Sakura, his face softening ever so slightly. "I choose the mission."

"As I thought…" said the woman to herself, but there was a devious twinkle in her eye. "Your mission is as follows. You and a group of people will be dispatched from Konoha to eliminate all the remaining Akatsuki other than Madara Uchiha."

Sakura's eyes lit up and she gasped. "Tsunade-shishou!"

Sasuke shook his head, disregarding the girl's outburst. "That should be simple. How many people is that? Just Konan and Zetsu are left, right? Do you want me to just go ahead and take out Madara?"

"No, that's not necessary, Sasuke," replied the blonde-haired lady.

"Are you sure?"

"Sasuke!" huffed the girl, turning towards her mission and giving him an angry yet exasperated stare. "This mission is too risky, shishou! You said you're only sending out two other people. How do we know that's enough to defeat them both? Not to mention if Madara jumps in. This is not how I thought the mission would be…"

"Sakura, this is not your choice. This is Sasuke's and my own now. I'm sorry."

"With all due respect, shishou, Sasuke is barely ready to use his sharingan. His previous use of it two days ago was excessive and does not help the matter. Besides, if he were to encounter Madara, who knows if his Mangekyo would work. He's not to be using it in the first place…" pleaded the girl calmly.

"This is why he will have teammates, Sakura. You're done with the medication form of the antidote, aren't you?" asked the older woman.

Sakura looked to the side, contemplating where her shishou was going with this. "Ah…well—_yes_, but his Mangekyo—"

The Hokage cut her off. "Did you not make the antidote knowing that he would probably go against your wishes and use his Mangekyo _anyway_?" she asked with a quirked up eyebrow.

Sakura looked down sadly. "Yes, shishou, I did."

"Then Sasuke should be just fine if he stays on his pills, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then do we have any more questions and/or comments, Sakura?"

"…No, ma'am…we don't…" Sasuke looked down at his blossom to see the downcast look on her face. He could see the bound anger tightened with her face and her thin, quivering lips gave away her want to say something. But she didn't. She bit her tongue.

Tsunade let out a deep breath and then sat back in her chair. "Well, I would like to brief you two on Sasuke's mission." The two nodded in unison, and Sakura's eyes became glossy and unchangeable again as she entered her own world.

She did not want to lose him. This was not okay. This was not okay at all.

* * *

That afternoon and evening, Sakura did not say a word to the Uchiha. The apartment was silent and that was not the way Sasuke had wanted to spend his last night with his blossom. Sakura's contemplative but otherwise emotionless looks were never aimed at him, but it still stung to see the girl like this. Why was she so angry, when he was doing this for _her_? Staying in prison for _up to_ five years? That could feel like a lifetime when he was away from Sakura. At least with the mission, he wouldn't be away _that_ long. He didn't understand.

She had just finished lessening the pain in his leg so that he could sleep through the night, and was moving up to his stomach to make better the wound there, but she did not make eye-contact. She acted as if he wasn't even there.

He had had enough. "Sakura," he murmured. "Look at me." The girl did not look away from her work, a thin line still plastered on her lips. "_Look at me_," he said, straining his voice to make it sound more urgent. He saw her eyebrows furrow and he could feel her shaking with anger? Fear? He did not know.

"Sakura!" he practically shouted, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up at him, but then both his face and his voice softened. "Please…please talk to me."

She slapped his hand away and then laughed spitefully. "Oh, you want me to _say_ something, Sasuke? You would like to talk?" she questioned, a mock-innocent look on her face.

"I would," he answered sternly.

"Then let us _please_ talk about how you're _leaving me again_!" she bellowed, passion actually playing out on her face. She stood up, her tone only rising. "Please feel free to—to…to try and leave me for a _third_ time, Sasuke! Please feel free to go get yourself _killed _so Naruto and I can't feel anything but pain and suffering! So that you can _never_ complete your dream! So that the revival of Uchiha Clan will just _never_ happen and everything we've done to _get_ _you in_ the situation was all in vain!" Her eyes had looked so stern as she said that and because of her "new" attitude, she didn't screech it, rather she said it to him as if he were a young child that had stolen from the cookie jar.

She crossed her arms, staring at him irately for a second before stalking off to her room and slamming the door behind her. Sasuke sighed and stood from his seat on the couch, hoping to comfort his blossom.

"Sakura," he called as he walked to her door and opened it to see her lying out on the bed.

"We don't want to knock anymore?" she shot icily, not even looking at the boy.

Sasuke ignored her cold comment and walked over to her. "Listen, Sakura, we shouldn't be fighting. Not now," he tried to reason in as caring of a voice as an Uchiha could muster up.

Her eyes narrowed. "Then don't have to. Get out," she ordered.

He shook his head. "No, Sakura. I'm doing this for you. It'll be easy; I'll be back in no time at all."

She, too, shook her head slowly, closing her eyes and putting her head in her hands. "You have _got_ to stop thinking like that, Sasuke."

"Like what?"

"Like you're _invincible_," she answered, finally looking at him with frustration. "You're not! You're human just like the rest of us, so _stop_ acting so recklessly with yourself!"

He walked up to her, looking down at her from the side of her bed. "Sakura, I promise you that I'll be back."

She scoffed lightly, mostly to herself. "I don't believe you…" she said easily with a shrug.

"Why not?"

"Because _dying_ is neither noble _nor_ keeping your promise." Sasuke sat down silently on her bed, eyes strong and unmoved. But as he looked at her, he became happy and thankful not only that his blossom was _alive _and _sitting right there in front of him_, but that she was so animated and _full_ of life when she talked to him. "I mean, think about this Sasuke—WHAT are you doing?"

Sure enough the boy had lowered his head to her chest, his ear facing it. Sakura picked up her arm to move him, giving him a confused look, but he caught her hand and held it in place.

"What are you doing?" she repeated softly.

"Your heart…I was worried it was going to stop two days ago…" That shut the medic up if anything. He lifted his arms and touched her feather soft skin with his own, very delicately sliding his hands up her arms, sending goose bumps gliding up them wherever his hands touched. Her breath hitched.

"You were _freezing_, Sakura, do you remember?" It was a rhetorical question because the girl was half unconscious at the time, and she didn't even remember who had knocked out first, if he was still trying to help her in his last minute as well. His face lifted to the crook of her neck and he laid his nose on her pulse. "Your pulse was barely there."

The girl's plump lips parted and her eyebrows furrowed. "Sasuke…" she whispered as he sat fully back up and looked into her eyes, finally letting go of her hand.

His hard obsidian eyes burned into her wild teal. "I swore to myself if I did lose you that, even though I wanted to leave, I wouldn't. The village's happiness is yours, and yours mine, so I'd have to stay."

Sakura wanted to smile at how adorable he was being, but in fear that he would stop talking she only listened reverently.

"I would never use the Mangekyo again," he said slowly so she would understand fully what he meatn, shaking his head back and forth.

"Well, you couldn't if you ran out of antidote, _anyway_," said the girl playfully, wanting to see his true intentions.

"No, I _wouldn't_ because I want to respect your wishes. You are most important to me," he whispered, nuzzling into her neck and leaving a kiss behind.

Sakura closed her eyes, stretching out her neck as the warm sensation of his breath hit it. "Man, should I just kill myself to make it easier on everyone else?" she joked darkly.

"I wouldn't allow it," forbid the ex-Leaf-nin, his deep, raspy voice rumbling against her own vocal chords. He rose a little, kissing her jaw and then looked straight into her eyes, grabbing her face in his hands. "I have finally gotten the only thing I've wanted this whole time, and I am _not_ letting her go. I love you, Sakura." He had whispered the last sentence sending Sakura into total and complete ecstasy.

"I love you, too," she muttered, just as his lips met hers, taking her words right from her. She melted as soon as smooth lips collided with her own, his arms going around the small of her back to push her further into the kiss. She had almost forgotten how good this felt.

She broke out of the kiss with him, backing up so she was up against the headboard, and with heavy, impatient breaths, she pulled him back to her lips using his shirt.

He grunted at the strength she had used to do so, putting his hands on either side of her head so he could steady himself, and nipping her lip to ask for entrance.

Without even a second to think about it, Sakura forced her tongue into _his_ mouth and began to mingle with his tongue, tangling her fingers through his silky, black locks. He was so _hot_ and his warmth made her feel comforted after days of being so cold without him.

She moaned into his mouth when his hands started going up her sides and pushed herself more into him to the point of actually grinding into his groin with hers. He groaned again, instantly becoming hard at the pinkette's vigor before starting a wet, open mouthed trail of kisses down her jaw and neck, causing the girl to breathe even harder than she had been and call his name, sending the Uchiha over the edge.

With an eager cry, the girl pushed Sasuke off of her so that he was lying facing upward on the bed and straddled him, giving him a sexy smirk before diving back down to his mouth and kissing him again. Her hair splayed across his face, and in her on-top-of-him position, she began to thrust hard into the boy, eliciting groans of pleasure from him. Never in his _life_ had he had a hard on that could _compare_ to the hard on he was having right now.

He thrusted even harder into her, making her lose concentration and squeal into his mouth and he lifted himself of the bed so that he was kneeling on it as he tugged her shirt over her head and picked her up so she could wrap her long legs around his waist.

Sasuke initiated the kiss this time, immediately entering her cavern upon contact as his hand began to make its way up her back to unclip her bra.

Sakura's eyes popped open when she realized what had happened and her hands slid from the back of Sasuke's head to his chest. She ended the kiss as she pushed at his chest, her eyes worried and his filled with lust.

"Wait," she said breathily, unhooking her legs from around him and sliding down from his hips. She licked her swollen lips. "I love you, Sasuke…I love you so much." She stopped to catch her breath. "But I don't trust you."

He gave her a look of inquiry as he tried to slow down his own breathing. "What?"

"Sasuke, I'm not sure if I'm ready to get my heart broken by you again," she started, shaking her head. He didn't say anything this time, just looked at her and she sent a small hand through her messy pink hair.

"You've already tried a _second_ time to leave me. And even if I didn't show it, it was obvious that it hurt me more than I wanted it to to see that."

"I've already told you I won't—"

"But you _are_ leaving me, Sasuke," she whimpered. "I don't want to be that genin again, falling so deeply in love with you and waiting your return, and wondering if you're okay _so much_ that I can't think of anything else." She looked to the side. "I'm scared of losing you permanently…and I'm scared…of what you might do if you don't get your way again…" She rubbed her arm as she thought back to how he was really thinking of _leaving_ over something as miniscule as a fight.

The words she spoke were almost indecipherable, she was speaking so quietly. "I hope…you understand why I can't be with you the way you want me to be. Just like you have to win Konoha's trust back, you have to win mine as well." She was finally looking him in the eye.

He stared into her big, turquoise eyes for a second before looking down and coming to his resolve. "I understand."

She gave him a small, sad smile, but it was genuine even though halted by the sadness that would come for them both the following day. "Thank-you, Sasuke."

He smirked her way. "Hn. Anything to gain back the trust of my blossom." Her lips quivered as if she were going to cry (though he knew she wouldn't) and she reached out to caress his face. He lifted her hand from his face and kissed her fingers lightly as he always did. "May I stay with you tonight?" he asked politely.

She smiled, turning out the light and hopping under the covers. "You may."

"Can I hold you?"

She sighed in jest. "Might as well."

"Hn." She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist and she closed her eyes, interlacing her fingers in his. It was silent for awhile before the boy spoke up once more. "So, you've really fallen back in love with me?"

She sighed again, laughing light-heartedly. "Unfortunately."

His arms tightened around her waist, and he kissed the back of her shoulder. "Good. I was getting tired of being rejected." She laughed. "I knew you'd fall for me in good time, though."

"Idiot," she yawned. "Don't let stuff like that go to your head."

* * *

Sasuke had left Sakura's apartment really early. He didn't want to wake her, so he had left as quietly as he could, leaving a kiss on her forehead. He didn't want to see her now that he really thought about it. He was scared she would ask him to stay, and that _he _would listen to her pleas. On his way to the gates that lead into Konoha he noticed he was a little earlier than the rest of his 3-person unit. He shrugged it off figuring that waiting an extra half hour wouldn't be so horrible, but it would give him more time to think about staying. He had finally reached the gate when he heard a voice behind him.

"This mission is so _dangerous_, Sasuke." He knew that voice, he knew it like that back of his own hand, but he did not turn around to see her. Seeing her beautiful face again would only tempt him to stay and take his prize. He would let her finish speaking, though. "You don't have to do this. Please understand that you can say no," she said with slight kindness and understanding, but her voice was still strong, and impassive.

He could see that she was going back to the way she was when they had had their fight. What they warned to be the stoic girl that he no longer knew—the girl who had changed the most drastically out of anyone was now calling after him.

The Uchiha couldn't stop himself from turning around and faking a sly smirk. He could feign aloofness for her one more time, couldn't he? Even though there was a huge probability he would not live, not see her for a couple of years? Just _one_ more time. Just to assure her everything would be alright, everything would turn back to what it used to be.

"Sakura, if this is what I have to do to gain your trust then I'll do it."

The kunoichi's lips thinned almost automatically, and her eyes lost their luster. Sakura could tell by the look he had given her that Sasuke had made his choice. There was no way to stop the inevitable. The pinkette scoffed looking down, and stuffed her hands in her white coat. It was chilly outside, not bitingly so, but that chill you get early in the morning when the sun is barely up. "That flirtatious attitude really doesn't suit you, Sasuke," she bit out.

Sasuke knew she knew. The girl was smart, always had been. She knew because of the upcoming war, because of who he and the others were fighting that some of them would not be returning (and she selfishly hoped to Kami that it wasn't Sasuke that would never come home), that nothing could ever be as it was. She always knew, everyone in Konoha _always knew_. Ever since the day the young Uchiha who was left alone chose power and revenge over his beloved village it was bound to happen.

And ever since that day, everything—_everyone_ changed. Just by looking at the young woman in front of him, he could see that. "And that frown doesn't suit you." And with that, he gave _the new_ Sakura just one more look over, and then turned and began to walk towards the gates. No, not new. Just older, _wiser_. _Angrier_… deadpanned his mind.

Suddenly, he felt a feather light hand touch his shoulder. "Promise me you'll come back…" it was surprising. Her tone seemed higher, more anxious and urgent than usual for this new, older Sakura, lest she be angry. Her hand seemed to shake against his shoulder and she seemed out of breath. "Because Naruto—" she continued a little too quickly. He—reluctantly—turned around to look into her big, turquoise eyes. She locked into his gaze and her pink locks began to dance around her face in the wind that happened to be more bone-chilling than he remembered.

"Both Naruto and I couldn't stand losing you again, do you understand?" she inquired, more controlled than he thought possible. But in her dull eyes, there was a small twinkle of concern. He was surprised. Hadn't she just told him the previous night that she didn't believe in his promises? Had she had a change of heart already—or did she just want to be assured by him, just one more time?

"Hn." He nodded reassuringly. "If you promise to be ready to hold my children when I get back." The words left his mouth quicker than he could catch them. Was it really a force of habit for him to flirt with her all the time, even if he had already won the girl over? But Sasuke let it go once he realized how calm he had made her, for her emotionless face had changed into a look of anger and she was now growling.

The medic's fists clenched, a green chakra floating threateningly around them. "SAUSKE—" she barked, but was cut off by a long, pale finger on her lips.

"_Promise me_, you'll be here when I get back. Promise me that you'll wait for me, until you can trust me again," he murmured stoically, casually.

Her slightly widened eyes went back down to size as his finger fell from her lips and a contented smirk replaced her scowl. Sakura's head tossed to the side as she let out a half-hearted chuckle before stuffing her freezing digits back into her pockets. "That's better than any old '_Arigato_' before you knock me out cold and leave me on a hard bench…" she said teasingly.

He smirked devilishly. "A '_aishiteru, Sasuke-kun'_ is required for that."

They stood like that for about a minute before without warning, Sasuke grabbed the back of her head and pushed the pinkette into his chest, but like he expected, Sakura wasn't surprised, and gingerly wrapped her arms around the Uchiha.

She nuzzled her cold, red nose into his hard chest and tightened her arms around him. "You're so annoying…Sasuke…leaving me like this…" she whispered softly.

He moaned contentedly before resting his chin on the top of her head and taking in the scent of her rosette hair. "And you're gorgeous…" he mumbled, pulling her further into his embrace.

They stood there in ecstasy, Sasuke whispering soothingly into her ear, until the sun began to rise and they both knew they would have to part ways soon. His team would be there any minute. Sakura looked up at the sun through half-lidded eyes before shuffling cautiously out of his arms.

When standing farther from each other for longer they both wanted, they stared at each other for some time. She gave him a soft, reassuring smile before it erupted into something so beautiful, so breathtaking. The usually scowling woman was smiling from ear to ear, something he hadn't seen since the girl was twelve and something he had taken for granted. He never thought she could be so beautiful. But something struck Sasuke as painful. If he remembered the genin Sakura correctly, this was still just a ghost of the smile from those years.

But they both mutually understood that things would never, _could_ never be the way that they were. And they were contented with just that.

"Kick some ass, Sasuke! I know you'll win!" And she began to walk away, his eyes not straying from her body until she was completely out of sight.

Sasuke could still always make things _better _between him and his blossom. He knew someday, Sakura would find the courage to trust him again, and he would work hard for that day. Sasuke could wait _forever_ if he had to.

Step forward: Sakura finally accepted his love, and she would _wait_ for him; Steps back: he had to figure out how many steps in the right direction it would take to finally be trusted by the girl.

But having her in the end was worth it.

_**Fin**_

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**A/N:** Well, there you are! The ending to _One Step Forward, Two Steps Back_! I'm kinda sad guys :( I'm like crying! **PlZ REViEW! **I need to know if you liked the chapter at all! It was a little sappy, and the ending wasn't my favorite...I guess I coulda done a little better... :( Dont hate me!!!

So...can anyone say "SEQUEL" cause there will def be one :) I'm thinking of writing a couple of oneshots for this too...so maybe look out for a oneshot on how Sakura and Tadashi met?? Idk, some people said they LiKED Tadashi, so maybe that's an option...

Also, free cookeez and maybe a oneshot of the couple of YOUR choice if you can guess what the name of my sequel will be :D Here's a hint: It has something to do with "steps"!! Um...idk, maybe the first 2 people who can guess it will get to choose, cuz I can't promise a lot of writing in the near future...PEARLS needs a little breaky-break...

But anyways! Thank you guys SO much for reading this story! I can't believe I FINISHED! It's an amazing feeling :)** I LOVE ALL OF YOU!** Hope to see you all in the near future :3

Luving me's like...

-chewingonpearls


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